Darian DeVries Earns Jim Phelan Award Mid-Season Honors

West Virginia University head coach Darian DeVries was the recipient of the Jim Phelan award ‘Mid-Season’ honors Thursday afternoon. The award is presented annually to the top head coach in division I college basketball.

DeVries took over the Mountaineer basketball program in March and with only one returning member of the basketball team from a season agon, he has WVU sitting with a 12-4 overall record and 3-2 in Big 12 Conference action, including 3-1 against ranked opponents and notched the program’s first ever win at Kansas to begin Big 12 play.

As the wins continued to rack up, West Virginia moved into the AP Poll for the first time in two years, currently sit 25th in the coaches poll.

"Coach DeVries has transformed West Virginia's program with a remarkable first-half performance, already surpassing last season's win total," said James Wilhelmi senior analyst for CollegeInsider.com and longtime NCAA coach. "His ability to instill confidence and execute a clear vision has energized the team. DeVries' leadership has been nothing short of impressive, setting a strong foundation for possible run in March."

The recipient of the annual award is determined by a 10-member voting committee, which consists of current and former head coaches, as well as two senior staff members of collegeinsider.com.

The Jim Phelan Award is named in honor of a legendary bow-tied coach who spent his entire head coaching career at Mount Saint Mary’s University.

Phelan graduated from La Salle University in 1951 and played one season in the NBA with the Philadelphia Warriors. After a brief professional career, Phelan went to Mount St. Mary’s as an assistant in 1953. One year later he began his historical career as a head coach.

He led the Mountaineers to 16 Division II NCAA tournaments. Five times they advanced to the Final Four and he led them to the DII National Championship in 1962.

When he retired in 2003, after coaching for 49 years, he had amassed 830 wins (overall record of 830-524) in all divisions. In those 49 years, 19 of his teams amassed 20 or more wins in a season.

In 2008 he was inducted into National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.

Phelan passed away on June 15, 2021 at the age of 92 at his home in Emmitsburg, MD.