Mar 4, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Darian DeVries watches the play against the Utah Utes during the first half at Jon M. Huntsman Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Darian DeVries Overachieved in His First Year on the Job at West Virginia

Originally posted on West Virginia Mountaineers on SI
By Schuyler Callihan | Last updated Mar 8, 2025 10:43 AM ET

Although he'll never admit it, West Virginia head coach Darian DeVries has milked way more out of this team than anyone thought to be possible.

In eight days, the Mountaineers will likely hear their name called on Selection Sunday, making the tournament just one year after the interim regime put together a nine-win campaign.

DeVries pieced his coaching staff and roster together at the same time, with only one returning player, Ofri Naveh, who is taking a redshirt. He didn't have much to sell at the time other than belief and yet he still somehow landed one of the best transfers in all of college basketball, Javon Small.

“I think part of it was, believe in yourself and then believe in the other we’re putting around you," DeVries said. "At the end of the day, winning is a mindset and like we told them, everybody is coming here because they want to win too. When everybody’s got that same mentality, it gives you a chance every night.”

What's most impressive about this season is that they've been able to slay some college basketball giants while having a tight rotation and without the services of Tucker DeVries for much of the season.

Hall of Famer Bob Huggins never won at Kansas during his tenure. DeVries did it in his first trip without arguably his best player. WVU has also had its fair share of struggles beating Gonzaga over the years. DeVries beat them in the first month of the season. The Mountaineers have also had more success on the road this year than they've had over the last three years combined.

Expectations for this group were extremely low and rightfully so. But DeVries and Co. have folks excited about Mountaineer basketball once again, setting the table for a bright future.

“I don’t think we overachieved, underachieved anything," DeVries said. "Our goal the whole time was to maximize what we thought we could do and try to do that every day. I think this group has given us incredible effort and focus the entire season. We obviously think there was more out there that we would’ve liked to have won when we look back on a few games, but that’s probably the case every year. I just love this group and the way they’ve come and fought every day - appreciative of that mindset.”