Under Darian DeVries, Defense Will Be 'Priority One' For Indiana Basketball

Hoosiers On SI sat down with new Indiana basketball Darian DeVries on Friday. DeVries' defensive priorities were discussed and how he has made his teams defensively sound.

West Virginia Mountaineers coach Darian DeVries watches game play during the first half against the Colorado Buffaloes at T-Mobile Center. / William Purnell-Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – When it comes to basketball, fans, writers and maybe even some coaches think about offense first.

You have to score to win, right? Offense is far more easily measured than defense, so determining offensive efficiency has become an internet cottage industry. Kenpom and barttorvik.com are just two of the most prominent sites.

When Darian DeVries was hired at Indiana, it was only natural that fans and media began to pour over the offensive efficiency of his teams at Drake and West Virginia. There’s plenty to learn. DeVries-coached teams have never been lower than 189th in Kenpom in offensive efficiency.

Defensive statistics also are measured, but nowhere near as accurately, apart from over-arching statistics like points per game or points per possession against.

Good defense is also part of a plan laid out by the coach and the heart of the player asked to carry it out. Defense can be recruited, and good coaches recognize the trait in recruits.

Colorado Buffaloes center Elijah Malone (50) shoots the ball around West Virginia Mountaineers guard Toby Okani (5) and West Virginia Mountaineers forward Amani Hansberry (13) during the second half at T-Mobile Center. / William Purnell-Imagn Images

DeVries’ defensive efficiency tells an encouraging tale. None of his teams have been ranked lower than 155th in that category on Kenpom. West Virginia was 15th in adjusted defense in 2025.

But that only tells part of the story. Emphasis on defense is part of the picture, too. DeVries makes it his highest priority.

“That's actually priority number one for us is on the defensive end. We want to preach toughness, physicality, aggressiveness as much as possible, but also a discipline about it in terms of being physical on the ball,” DeVries said in an interview with Hoosiers On SI on Friday.

The eye test gives a good indication of what DeVries is talking about. For all of the attention paid to the production of Tucker DeVries at Drake and West Virginia, or the excellence of point guard Javon Small with the Mountaineers, one impression you get when you watch DeVries-coached teams is how physical and tough they are.

“We're going to be physical on some wing entries and things. But we also want to make sure there's protection behind it,” DeVries said.

DeVries’ teams usually employ man defense, and he puts a high value on teaching it in the offseason.

“It takes a while, as we get into summer workouts and into the fall of guys learning where that connectivity comes from, of when to stay and when to get out and be aggressive and maybe deny a little bit,” DeVries said.

“Over the course of a summer and fall it starts to kind of come together. And then hopefully each year, as you get some retention and stuff. It builds off of one another,” he added.

To build a defensive mentality and toughness means preaching it day in, day out. That’s what DeVries and his staff do.

“Almost everywhere they go, everything they hear is going to preach toughness, playing hard, out-working people. That’s just something we prioritize in almost everything we do,” DeVries said.

DeVries has said he will not rush players on to Indiana’s roster just for the sake of having bodies or as an exercise in amassing talent as was arguably done during the Mike Woodson era.

However, identifying defensive fit isn’t easy in the speed-dating-style recruiting that goes on when building via the transfer portal. How does DeVries go about it?

“Yeah, it’s maybe a little bit harder than the offense. It's easy to pull up the offense and see shots going in – and that’s a very important thing for us, too,” DeVries said.

DeVries tries to identify one key trait as it relates to how a player might be as a defender.

“How competitive are they? As opposed to being able to evaluate how well they get through every ball screen and stuff like that,” DeVries explained. “Do they want to? Is there a competitive drive?”

Utah Utes forward Jake Wahlin (10) goes to the floor for a loose ball with West Virginia Mountaineers guard Javon Small (left) and guard Joseph Yesufu (1) during the second half at Jon M. Huntsman Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images / Rob Gray-Imagn Images

When DeVries can identify those traits? Even an average defender can become a good one because there is want-to in their make-up to get better. To take pride in defensive performance as much as putting the ball in the hole.

“We just believe on the defensive end if you can get them to play as hard as they possibly can, maybe lesser gifted defenders can still be pretty good defensively,” DeVries said.

If DeVries can deliver on his philosophies, and replicate the toughness of his teams at Drake and West Virginia, it should help Indiana’s defensive performance stop the erosion that occurred during the Woodson era.

Though Indiana’s field goal defense was mostly solid with Woodson in charge, it did slip each season he was coach. Indiana was 21st nationally in 2022 in field goal defense at 39.6%. In 2025, the Hoosiers were 154th at 43.4%.

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