Darian Devries would be ideal like IOWA basketball coach
Darian Devries speaks about the victory of West Virginia against the state iowa
Born in Iowa and the former Drake coach Darian Devries, West Virginia led to win the state Iowa
For the first time in 15 years, a real coaching search begins for one of the four big sports from Iowa Athletics. But the “search” to replace Fran McCaffery as the men’s basketball coach may not have to be long.
The first call from Beth Goetz should (and probably already went to the old Butler friend Brad Stevens), the Boston Celtics General Manager, just to make sure that he does not want to return to College coaching for a boss that he respects very much. Her second call should go to the camp of West Virginia coach Darian Devries, who checks every box that Iowa should wish for the next basketball coach.
Whether Devries actually takes on the job is another question. We will be added later.
But if Goetz could deliver Devries, it would be a home attitude for Iowa’s athletics director in the second year. The reasons are numerous.
Devries has excellent results in the Head Chair Stuhl
When Devries drake left in spring 2024 to take over the job in West Virginia, he recorded five of the 10 seasons of the Bulldogs of more than 20 wins in the program history. In six years, Devries led a record of 150-55 and reached three NCAA tournament and won a game in the first round in 2021. much larger programs.
If there is a question of how Devries would do at the level of the conference level, what he did in West Virginia in the first year were described by Morgantown Media as a present success. Devries came to extremely low expectations (after a 9: 23 season that came from the consequences of Bob Huggins’ short exit) and exactly a returning player on the West Virginia list.
But Devries was able to land a top transfer in Wache Javon Small from the state of Oklahoma. Then he did something that Huggins never did – won in Kansas, no less in his first attempt. West Virginia also defeated Gonzaga and iowa state (then No. 2) On the way to a record of the regular season with 19-12. West Virginia is solid in the NCAA tournament, which is projected as No. 10.
The guy can train and he has proven that he was to drake to West Virginia wherever he was 17 years old as an assistant at Creighton (under Dana Altman and Greg McDermott).
“I don’t think we have revised,” Devries said recently about his first season. “Our goal was all the time to maximize what we thought we could do it every day.”
Devries is a man from the middle west (iowa) and iowa is a dream destination
Intended sources within the coaching community state that Devries have two dream jobs Hat-Creighton and Iowa. He and his wife Ashley have a son, Tucker and a daughter, Tatum, who is a high school in the second year. You have known all of your lives all the west. Bringing the house of the Devries family home would of course be suitable for both parties.
Although he has been training for a long time, Devries will only be 50 years old on April 7th. This is the same age as Goetz. Thinking for Goetz would never be able to stop another men’s basketball coach again. Successful swills is of course the potential for a long -term partnership.
Devries is an iowan, through and through. His use of a cell phone with the area code Code 515. Devries led Aplington-Parkersburg to two state championships in the high school and played his college ball in Northern Iowa. His brother Jared was a star football player at the University of Iowa and remains the Hawkeyes-Sack leader of all time.
Adjusting an Iowan would draw an immediate connection to Hawkeye fans who are looking for a reason to return to men’s basketball.
Devries would create the urgently needed fan enthusiasm
Although McCaffery is traveling as Iowas, the victorious coach of all time, the lack of defense and the success of his teams became a source of frustration and finally apathy for many fans.
But today you have a conversation with almost every Hawkeye fan about who would get you up again to watch the men’s basketball again, and Devries is inevitably the first name that appears.
It’s not about playing style for Iowa fans. It is about finding paths to be successful when it is most important. Devries returned to his introductory press conference in West Virginia and made an explanation that should be resonance at Iowa fans.
“How do you win games from a philosophical point of view?” Said Devries. “You have to take care of the ball, you have to protect a defensive rebound, you have to protect. These three things that win. If you can do these three areas well, you have the chance to win every single night. “
The risk of paying Devries would be a child’s play for Iowa
Yes, the costs for Goetz and Iowa Athletics to take such a step would be considerable. In addition to the approximate buyout of 4.26 million US dollars (over three years) for MCCAFFERY, IOWA would have to write a rich check to West Virginia -of around 4.66 million dollars if the setting was made on April 1 -to pay the Buyout for Devries to leave Morgantown after one year. Goetz built a break in the West Virginia in the Big 12 in the seventh Big 12 this year. A top six finish would have automatically extended its contract and increased the buyout to almost $ 5.9 million.
Therefore, the total costs for IOWA would be around 9 million US dollars here. Of course that’s a lot of money, but a large picture still only makes 5% of the annual turnover from Iowa Athletics. But the costs for empty seats are something that Goetz could not afford to swallow. Iowa ended the 2024-25 season with an average number of visitors of 9,161 fans per game in the regular average in the lowest average in at least 60 years. Ticketscans (actual fans in seats) were much lower, according to a request from the mones register of 5,172 per game, or 34.5% of the capacity of 14,998 for basketball from Carever-Hawkeye Arena.
In addition, Devries should earn 2.9 million US dollars in West Virginia next season. McCaffery should earn 3.5 million US dollars in 2025-26. The bank should not break for Goetz in the long term to make sure that it is the best man for the job. She could offer Devries an increase of 25% (a shadow of over 3.6 million US dollars a year) and still pay pretty much what Iowa paid for next season McCaffery.
Many bonus breaks, including (probably) a wrestler of the first year to get things going
What Devries’ successful first season in West Virginia made more remarkable was that he played most of it without his son Tucker. The former Waukee High School and the two-time Missouri Valley Conference player of the year in Drake were limited to eight games for the mountaineers before defeating a shoulder operation. Tucker Devries meets the requirements for a median haino-hip waiver, so that he (probably) provides a senior season in the sixth grade.
What a starting point would be to design Iowas 2025-26 squad from Iowa. Devries also played with Pryce Sandfort, who enjoyed a strong season for Iowa in the second year in Waukees 2021 State Championship Team (together with Payton).
This is an important period for Goetz. With the removal of McCaffery, a 30-day transfer portal window opens for all IOWA players. Any kind of positive duty roster impulse for Hawkeyes could increase the chances of keeping other talents, including Josh Dix and Owen Freeman, although this is more difficult to know.
In addition, there would be a natural marriage that holds the current Iowa assistant Matt Gatens in the staff – if you consider that he was an important assistant for Devries at Drake. This type of continuity would be another additional bonus for a Devries rent.
But would Devries accept the iowa job?
That is a fair question. Devries is a naturally loyal person. After all, he stayed in a total of 20 years in Creighton (including three as a doctoral student). But he also longed for a job in his home state how he was rejected three times for the Drake Head coaching job, because the Bulldogs went with Mark Phelps and Ray Giacom. (Third time was a charm for Devries and Drake.)
From Iowa’s point of view, Devries may be the first choice, but far from the only choice.
Goetz probably already has some fascinating names like Chris Collins from Northwestern (who always had an affinity for Iowa as a recruit). Hot coaching name, including in Indiana, with a defensively oriented style). Each of these would also be an excellent decision.
But the most important thing first: make a shot on Devries.
It will be interesting to see whether the IOWA offer is going on when Devries decides to stay at the first Power Conference School, which did him or whether one of his two dream jobs draws him home.
The Columnist of Hawkeyes, Chad Leistikow, has been working for 30 years with the Moines Register and the USA Today Sports Network. Chad is the 2023 Ina Iowa Sports Columnist of the Year and the NSMA-Co-Sportswriter of the year in Iowa. Close the Chad Text Message Group (free of charge for subscribers) at Hawkcentral.com/hawkeyetexts. Follow @Chadleistikow on x.
