One on One with Darian DeVries

Drake Bulldogs’ Special Season

(St. Louis, MO) – Prior to the ‘madness’ fully unfolding we wanted to go one on one with Darian DeVries. The Drake head basketball coach has amassed unparalleled success with the Bulldog program. During the first five years of his head coaching career, there has been no more successful Missouri Valley Conference coach.

Drake has won at least twenty games in each of DeVries’ campaigns and at least 25 the past three seasons. As the Bulldogs prepare for the NCAA Tournament, this is their fourth post season trip in those five years. Prior to DeVries’ arrival, Drake had secured five twenty-win seasons in its entire basketball history.

His players have claimed numerous all conference mentions, one player of the year award and DeVries is a two-time (2019 & 2021) Valley coach of the year. Impressive numbers and win totals to be sure, but this season may be the most special for the Bulldog head coach.

After losing the Arch Madness title game two straight seasons, graduates Roman Penn, D.J. Wilkins and Garrett Sturtz put everything else on hold and came back for one more shot at cutting nets down in St. Louis. This nucleus had qualified for an NCAA Tournament bid (2021) but desperately wanted to win the conference tournament trophy.

DeVries says that group of players along with Darnell Brodie and his son Tucker holds a special bond with one another and with the head coach. They were committed to that St. Louis title and the head coach was truly happy for them, that they achieved their dream.

 

 

Championship Building Blocks

While going one on one with Darian DeVries you hear the appreciation in his voice and in his well chosen words. Attention to detail, individual improvement and a collective will to win and improve stand out with this team.

Statistics reveal the results of the hard work and preparation, but when you watch this team in person, you see the focus, experience and precision. Using an overused cliché, it is like poetry in motion.

The Drake veterans knew what it takes to be a championship team and the head coach knew they had a chance to succeed and fulfill their dreams.

 

 

Center Darnell Brodie slimmed down (he lost 20 pounds) this past offseason. The 6’10 post looked better, quicker and more agile all season, but it was his energy, his confidence and his determination that caught my eye. He seemed to want the challenge. During Sunday’s showdown with the huge Bradley Brave frontcourt, he forced the issue and wanted to be a difference maker. Without bravado or chest bumping, he was the aggressor.

DeVries says there is still more room to grow for a player named to the Valley’s ‘most improved team’.

 

 

Tucker’s Part

You can’t go one on one with Darian DeVries without talking about his son Tucker. The younger DeVries was the Valley’s preseason player of the year and at the end of the year he was honored with the Larry Bird Award as the league’s most outstanding player.

Tucker leads the team in scoring and he is on top of every team’s scouting report. While Penn is the program’s all-time leading assist man, Wilkins is the top three point shooter and Sturtz is its all-time rebound leader, it is Tucker DeVries that gives this team its championship caliber.

(Click here for our entire one on one conversation)

During his two seasons in Des Moines he has amassed 1,130 points and his game has grown from just being a dangerous shooter, but a legitimate scorer. His ball-handling has improved and his feel for when to press the issue and when to take his time is noticeable.

Many are wondering if Tucker will turn professional. During my one on one with his father, I didn’t ask that question, but rather, I asked Darian for insight into his son that isn’t obvious in statistics or performances.

 

 

Sunday night the Bulldogs will be assigned a number, a destination and will become part of America’s greatest sporting event. They will be an underdog as most bracketologists have them slotted on the twelve line on their March Madness brackets.

Win or lose this coming mid-week, this era of Drake basketball has been special from a wins and losses stand point from a building of relationships and awakening the basketball excitement in Des Moines.

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