West Virginia basketball is in a better place under Ross Hodge than Darian DeVries.
There, we said it. Should we say it? Maybe it's too early to tell. But it's not like the signs aren't there. Just staring WVU basketball fans and media members alike in the face is the possibility that what we all felt like was just another yet one more piece of awful luck for the program when Darian DeVries was offered the Indiana job and skipped town is actually just what the doctor ordered.
Now, don't think for a second the Mountaineers wouldn't have been fine under DeVries. He managed a 19-13 record in his first season in the same situation Hodge is in now, with a completely rebuilt roster. Maybe even worse of a situation, because the Mountaineers were coming off a historically bad season under interim Josh Eilert after the legendary Bob Huggins resigned controversially.
DeVries managed to field a competitive team that upset multiple Top 25 opponents while star forward Tucker DeVries was healthy, and a team that still nearly fought its way into the NCAA Tournament, and should have been in the postseason, if we're being honest with ourselves. He also had three four-star recruits committed to come play for him in Morgantown before leaving.
But the early look at Ross Hodge's team on the court shows he might be an upgrade on DeVries. Hodge's team has been incredible defensively so far, living up to every bit of hype surrounding his name as a defensive-oriented coach. He also just did something DeVries couldn't do with an early-season, first-year roster – and that's beat archrival Pitt in The Backyard Brawl, which Hodge did dominantly in a 71-49 win.
Hodge's recruiting has also already seemingly surpassed DeVries, as the Mountaineers now have two of the Top 10 players in Arizona committed to come play for them in the Class of 2026 in four-star center Aliou Dioum and five-star point guard Miles Sadler, and a pair of four-star prospects are already lined up for the Class of 2027 in Jadyn Jenkins and Caleb Lundy.
It might be a bit early to truly decide if the outcome for the Mountaineers is going to be better than before, but this Thanksgiving, when you're writing letters about what you're thankful for, maybe address one to the DeVries family in Bloomington, Indiana – because their departure of Morgantown just may have been for the best for the future of WVU.