NCAA Tournament bid or not, Darian DeVries did an outstanding job leading the West Virginia men’s basketball program throughout the 2024-25 season.
In his first year with the program, DeVries quite literally started from scratch as no player from the previous season logged a single minute under DeVries. DeVries hit the portal and he hit it hard in order to fill out a roster that could compete in the Big 12.
On the season, the head coach and his squad picked up signature wins over Gonzaga, Arizona, Iowa State, and Kansas. A win on New Year’s Eve at Allen Fieldhouse marked the Mountaineers’ first win at Kansas since joining the Big 12, and they did so with two starters sidelined due to injury.
While the college basketball world is shocked that West Virginia was not selected for the NCAA Tournament, it was a lesser surprise that the Mountaineers also turned down a variety of postseason tournaments such as the NIT and the inaugural College Basketball Crown -- you would imagine that a team and coach that did such an incredible job with such a rough situation would want an opportunity to finish on a positive note.
But it's not shocking that Coach DeVries has been a part of some rumors as other programs are looking to hire a new coach, and it could play a role in the Mountaineers turning down postseason invites. This has raised some eyebrows, as many are expressing concerns that WVU would have no reason to decline invites to postseason play if DeVries (and his son, Tucker) were not soon to be on the move.
The most notable rumor and a program looking for a new basketball coach is the Iowa Hawkeyes. Just last week, Iowa announced that they were parting ways with head coach Fran McCaffery after 15 seasons leading the program.
Is Iowa a better head coaching job than West Virginia?
No, not really. Neither program is a “blue blood” in basketball terms. And while each program has had success in recent memory, the Hawkeyes are not historically nor in recent seasons a 'better' basketball program by any stretch of the imagination.
Why is it rumored that Darian DeVries has an interest in Iowa?
Iowa is home. DeVries was born and raised in Aplington, Iowa, less than 2 hours from the University of Iowa. His brother played his college football for the Hawkeyes before moving onto the NFL. There’s reason to believe that the University of Iowa could be DeVries’ dream job, making it hard to pass up.
While it remains to be seen as to whether or not the rumors are in fact true, Mountaineer fans can just hope and wait. You’d be hard-pressed to find a Mountaineer fan who wants to move on from DeVries after the season that he has put together in his first year.