BasketballBig EastHiringMissouri Valley

Darian DeVries hired as Drake head coach

Longtime Creighton assistant Darian DeVries was announced on Thursday as the new head coach at Drake. DeVries is an Iowa native who played for Eldon Miller at Northern Iowa and has spent the last 20 years working first under Dana Altman, then Greg McDermott, at Creighton.

This is the first head coaching job for DeVries, though it would seem a long time coming for the career assistant. Familiarity with the state and immense coaching and recruiting experience in the area make him a seemingly perfect fit for the Bulldogs program.

Drake went 17-17 and appeared in the CIT this past year, the only one for previous head coach Niko Medved before leaving for Colorado State earlier this month.

DeVries will have a bit of a rebuild on his hands, as five seniors – all in the top six in scoring last year – will depart the program. The young Drake team will be bolstered by a large 2018 recruiting class, currently ranked 2nd best in the MVC by 247Sports.