MORGANTOWN — The talk was your normal run-of-the-mill preseason basketball stuff with first-year WVU men’s basketball coach Darian DeVries.
Players learning the system, big guys — in this case WVU’s Amani Hansberry — shooting 3-pointers, secret scrimmages, offense and defense.
Then came this little nugget:
“I’m mostly calm … mostly,” DeVries said when asked about his in-game demeanor with officials. “I haven’t had a technical foul, yet. So, that gives you a little bit of an idea.”
Eyes suddenly lit up; minds were blown.
In six seasons, spanning 205 career games as a head coach at Drake, DeVries has never been T’d up? Come on.
“He has not got one,” his son Tucker, a senior guard with the Mountaineers this season who also played for his father for three seasons at Drake, confirmed. “I think he stays pretty focused on the group as a whole. He’s a big believer in control what he can control.
“He’s like any coach, he’s going to say some things (to the refs). Maybe he just has a little more respect for them, I guess.”
Don’t take this as Darian DeVries being a passive coach, or someone who won’t fight for his guys.
“I probably would have T’d him up a time or two,” Tucker continued with a smile. “He’s pretty good at keeping his calm, and if things aren’t going our way, it’s just time to dig deeper and overcome it.”
It is that insight into Darian DeVries that gives us a sense that there is a new sheriff in town, a guy with different ideas and a new way of going after the ultimate goal.
It’s just not changes in personnel, philosophy or X’s and O’s, although that’s a part of it, too.
When you look at the makeup of this WVU team, it’s likely you’re going to see as many 3-point attempts on offense as there were during the John Beilein days.
“We have the advantage of having multiple people who can put the ball in the basket, especially from three,” WVU forward Toby Okani said. “We do have the talent to put the ball on the floor and get to the rim and get to the free-throw line. We’re a team, if it’s a good shot, take it.”
What exactly is a good shot? DeVries was asked that at the beginning of preseason practice.
His reply? “One that goes in.”
Okani explained DeVries as a coach who does his teaching during practice, and then simply expects to see the results during games.
“It’s very much the small things that can kill you, those are the things he drills into you,” said Okani, who played against Drake for two seasons at Illinois-Chicago. “Him as a coach, I’ve seen him multiple times where he gets animated, but then he’s cool and relaxed after he’s had his moment.
“Seeing that as an opponent, they win because he understands his players are going to respond and they’re built for the moment.”
There may be plenty of moments in this upcoming season, as DeVries will be taking a roster with just one player with Big 12 experience into a league that just may have its deepest talent pool ever. According to ESPN’s latest Bracketology, nine Big 12 teams are projected to make the NCAA tournament.
Going by DeVries’ past, maybe those moments won’t be too overwhelming for him. At least not in the case of him working over the referees.
“I’ll probably get one the first game,” DeVries jokes. “I’ve deserved a couple. There’s been a couple of times I probably deserved one.
“I do try to keep a pretty good rapport with the officials. They know if I’m upset, maybe they missed one. I don’t want that to be my focus on a game-by-game basis. I want it to be on us.”
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