Everything Darian DeVries Said at His Introductory Press Conference

The first words have been spoken from the new WVU head coach.

Opening statement

"I understand the responsibility of being the men's basketball coach here at West Virginia. We will do everything we can to make you proud. We're going to do it with integrity. We're going to do it the right way. We're going to work hard. Everything that makes you proud to represent us and vice versa. I also want to go backwards a little bit. I want to thank Drake University, President Martin, the Director of Athletics Brian Hardin, all my former players, and the community of Des Moines for their incredible support of myself, my family, and my staff over the six years that I was there. Drake will always be a part of my family and something we'll be forever grateful for."

Coaching influence

"I feel very fortunate. As Wren (Baker) mentioned, I worked at two terrific institutions. Twenty years at Creighton University and Drake University. I was incredibly blessed to work for two of the greatest coaches in the game in Dana Altman and Greg McDermott. I'm forever grateful for their influence on my for both a coach and a person. They are simply two of the best. They teach you it's more than just about basketball. It's about people and developing people."

The type of players he is looking for

"We will look for young men that have talent with intangibles. I'm a firm believer that if you stack talent and intangibles and you do that enough times and you put together a group of men like that in the locker room that equates to winning and we will have a locker room filled with winners. And winners just aren't about scoring baskets. They have discipline, a toughness, unselfishness, and stands tall in all situations and we'll teach them to apply that to all phases of their life.

Making the jump from a mid-major to the Big 12

"I think the biggest challenge when you change leagues is just learning the league. I grew up in the midwest with the Big 12, the old Big 8. So certainly I have a great understanding of the league and know many of the coaches in the league. Now it's just about getting a staff put together, continuing to build on your roster. But at the end of the day, basketball is still basketball. Things that matter for winning, matter for winning at any level."

Finding out which players are staying

"I'll get the opportunity to meet with individuals on the roster right now and get a feel for their plans and our plans and we'll communicate that with each individual on the roster. And then we'll continue to fill some of the needs with the seniors that are leaving the program and anyone else."

The pitch to players

"There's unbelieveable tradition here. There's a great history here. There's a lot to sell. Unbelievable fan base, passion. There's so much about this program that sells itself. It's an easy sell. People are interested, they want to be a part of it and they love our style of play."

If he's talked to Gale Catlett, John Beilein, and Bob Huggins

"I got a chance to reach out to all three of them. I got a couple on the phone exchanging text messages and was certainly excited to get their input about the program and the success they've had here."

Expectations

"From a wins and losses standpoint, I don't think you can go into it and say we're going to do this or that. I think the wins and losses, we want them to be more on the win side this upcoming year, but it still has to be about the process and making sure that we don't sacrifice that to bring in players that don't fit us or don't match what we want to build this program. If it plays out that way that we can be as successful as possible and competing at the top then great. But we will not sacrifice anything from a culture standpoint in any way shape or form in terms of just filling a roster. We're going to find the right guys that want to be here, want to be at West Virginia, want to be a part of a winning culture, a team culture. At the end of the day, I believe those wins will come. I hope they come sooner than later."

Coaching his son, Tucker, at WVU

"The last three years I've had an opportunity to coach my son and that's something in this profession that you miss growing up. Whether it be weekend tournaments or whatever. So the last three years just from a dad perspective, I get a lot of that back and get to spend some day to day time. Now during practice and during games, he's back to player and I'm back to coach. He probably gets mad at me and I get mad at him a little bit, but we've enjoyed this ride together. We can't wait for this opportunity during his last year. We just love everything about this place and about this program."

What made West Virginia stick out compared to other jobs

"I've said this a lot and I know Wren mentioned it. I spent twenty years at Creighton University because that was the place that I loved, it was a place my family loved. I wasn't going to leave Creighton University for any job at the time. I wanted the right one when I got my first head coaching job and to me that was Drake University. There was a vision there, there was a plan there. I spent the last six years there and it was incredible. I know when I took the job I said it would take something pretty special. I'm from Iowa, I'm from the midwest. It was going to take something pretty special to have me leave there. When I talked to Wren and I talked to people that know this program and this place and the people here, everything about it made sense to me, made sense to my family that this was a place that we could see ourselves at for a very long time. A place that we felt we could enjoy as a family, enjoy as a basketball coach, enjoy being a part of this community."

Retaining players

"We've had success at Drake with retaining players. My hope is that we have that same success here. I think a lot of is they enjoyed their time within our program. They could have left, they could have taken more money, they could have gone to other places for something new. But they wanted to continue to finish out their careers and be a part of a team and a program that they love being at. That's my goal here. We want student-athletes who love it here and want to finish their careers here."