Basketball Hall of Fame coach Jay Wright offered his instant reaction to the news of West Virginia hiring Darian DeVries on Sunday night during the coverage of the NCAA Tournament. The former Villanova and Hofstra coach gave DeVries a lot of praise.
“Great hire. He’s a great x and o guy. He’s a great program builder. He’s good without his son [Tucker], if he comes without his son, he’s going to be great for West Virginia. They’re going to love him,” Wright said. “It’s the kind of guy I could see him staying there for a long time.”
DeVries leaves Drake after six seasons, recording a 150-55 record and reaching the NCAA Tournament three times. DeVries was a long-time assistant at Creighton under Dana Altman and Greg McDermott before his Drake stint. It’s also expected that his son, Tucker, will transfer to West Virginia, following his father for his last season of eligibility.
“If he brings his son with him, Tucker DeVries is one of those guys that was playing at a level below where he could. But he can play in the Big 12 and he’s a good enough player to be there,” Wright added.
Tucker is a 6-foot-7 junior who averaged 21.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists for the Bulldogs this past season.
Studio analyst Seth Davis chimed in, comparing Tucker to Doug McDermott from Creighton.
More must-reads: