An inside look at how Darian DeVries landed the job with Drake men’s basketball

For the second time in three years, Drake men’s basketball is set to play in the NCAA Tournament.

The Bulldogs earned an at-large bid to March Madness in 2021, beating Wichita State for the program’s first Tournament win in 50 years. This season, Drake was an automatic qualifier after winning the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title. The Bulldogs will face Miami (FL) in the first round of the tournament on Friday, Mar. 17.

More:Drake men’s basketball cruises past Bradley to win Missouri Valley Conference championship

But just five years ago, a trip to March Madness didn’t seem possible.

Heck, finishing in the top half of the conference was a challenge for the Bulldogs.

Drake basketball coach Darian DeVries has sent the Bulldogs to the NCAA Tournament in two of the last three seasons.

It wasn’t until Darian DeVries – a native of Aplington, Iowa and a longtime assistant coach at Creighton – took over that Drake transformed into the powerhouse program it is today.

So just days away from Drake’s opening round game, let’s take a behind-the-scenes look at how he got hired and why the Bulldogs are so successful with DeVries in charge.

Third time’s the charm for Darian DeVries

When Drake fired Mark Phelps at the end of the 2012-13 season – after the Bulldogs put together a 15-17 record – DeVries applied for the open head coach position.

Ray Giacoletti landed the job instead.

The men’s basketball program steadily declined under Giacoletti. Drake went 15-16 in 2013-14, 9-22 in 2014-15, 7-24 the next year, and started the 2016-17 season with a 1-7 record before he resigned and Jeff Rutter took over as interim head coach.

With the head coach position freed up, DeVries once again applied for the job.

But it was Niko Medved who took over at Drake. He led the Bulldogs to a 17-17 record in the 2017-18 season, and then he left Des Moines for the head coaching gig at Colorado State.

For the third time in five years, the Bulldogs were without a head coach. It was up to Brian Hardin – who took over as Drake’s athletic director midway through Medved’s short tenure – to find a replacement and bring an end to the revolving door of head coaches.

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DeVries was the first candidate he interviewed.

“Niko left and the next day, I drove over and met with Darian in his suburban Omaha home,” Hardin said. “This is five years ago, (sophomore guard and Darian’s son )Tucker is 15 years old and he’s shorter than Darian. That tells you how much things have changed.”

Hardin and DeVries spoke for a few hours about the latter’s vision for the program. Drake’s athletic director left that conversation knowing that he had something special in his first candidate and that other applicants would be compared to what DeVries brought to that kitchen table conversation.

More:Tucker DeVries scores 1,000th career point as Drake basketball eases past Southern Illinois

There were many factors that helped DeVries land the job. Hardin was new to the Bulldogs administration, and the two shared a vision for what the men’s basketball program could be. DeVries started the hiring process with a blueprint already in place of how he would build out a roster and, in turn, transform the program.

But above all, it was DeVries’ loyalty that stood out.

Hardin wasn’t looking for another one-season-and-done coach, and DeVries had only ever held one other coaching job. Before coming to Drake, he spent 17 seasons as an assistant coach at Creighton.

“He didn’t want to be just any head coach,” Hardin said. “Darian separated himself because it was very clear that he wanted to be the Drake head coach. And that showed itself in the fact that he’d interviewed three times for it, that he had been offered other positions and turned them down.

“He wanted the Drake job. He didn’t want to be a head coach anywhere; it was important to him to be at Drake.”

Creating a culture that encourages change

Sustained success is difficult at the mid-major level, especially in the age of the transfer portal.

But despite the external challenges, DeVries’ loyalty to Drake has extended down through his players. The Bulldogs starting lineup features three graduate students – Roman Penn, Garrett Sturtz and D.J. Wilkins – who have played under DeVries for five seasons.

Drake seniors Sardaar Calhoun (14), left, D.J. Wilkins (0), head coach Darian DeVries, Garrett Sturtz (3), and Roman Penn (1) pose for a photo during senior night.

Darnell Brodie transferred to Drake from Seton Hall and is in his third season. It’s possible that Brodie returns for a fourth year. Okay Djamgouz and Nate Ferguson are two redshirt juniors who, despite playing minimal minutes off the bench, have stuck with DeVries.

Penn credits the team’s success with the culture his coach created.

“When you’re around each other for most of the year, you’re going to build a relationship that goes farther than basketball,” Penn said. “I think that helps build your culture. It’s a different type of trust and it’s a different type of energy. It has a lot to do with coach.”

DeVries’ desire to create a familial culture at Drake goes back to before he even landed the job. Hardin said his top candidate came into the interview process with names of uncommitted high school players, junior college athletes and college players in the transfer portal.

Two of those athletes were the Murphy twins – Anthony and Tremell – who came to Drake from Florida SouthWestern State. When DeVries went to recruit them, he saw Wilkins going through drills before practice and brought him to Des Moines, as well.

More:D.J. Wilkins leaves a legacy with Drake basketball, in more ways than one

Those three players played a part in getting Penn to the Bulldogs.

“I’d been playing with those guys my whole life,” Penn said. “It’s hard to leave that when you’ve been growing up with guys like that, and you always talked about playing on the college level. It goes beyond basketball.”

Hard work pays off

When Hardin first took over as athletic director, he reached out to alumni and inquired about what he could do to make them proud of Drake athletics.

“One of the most common responses was, ‘Can you please get us off ‘Drake night’?’” Hardin said.

“’Drake night’ was the Thursday night at the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament because Drake was always involved. Other teams would come and go, but Drake seemingly was always in the bottom four of the league.”

Drake Bulldogs head coach Darian DeVries watches action against the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

DeVries was able to do that, and then some.

He has put together five-straight, 20-plus win seasons and Drake has only lost nine home games during that span.

The Bulldogs made it to the semifinals of Arch Madness in DeVries’ first two seasons. Drake played in the last three championship games and won the conference title this spring. For the second time in three years, DeVries’ squad will play in the NCAA Tournament.

More:Drake basketball guard Roman Penn gets assists on the court and in the shopping cart

And it tracks back to that first conversation – at DeVries’ kitchen table – with Hardin.

“He’s been able to take a program that historically has not been very strong and has given it the best run in program history,” Hardin said. “He knew what it was going to take to be successful. He had a plan and he implemented it right away.

“Everything that he laid out – and more so – has come to fruition.”

Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Darian DeVries helps Drake to second NCAA Tournament in three years