MORGANTOWN — It’s almost as if Darian DeVries is in charge of the worst auto parts store known to man at the moment.
Don’t try and read too much into that. The WVU men’s basketball coach has already proven to be one heck of a mechanic.
He’s got good and capable people under him.
He’s got the facilities to do the job right.
He just no longer has the parts to do it.
That became apparent last week, when the Mountaineers’ current three-game losing streak began with a home loss against a not-very-good Arizona State team.
No. 6 Houston hit that thought home with a thunderbolt Wednesday with a 63-49 victory inside the Coliseum.
“In Darian’s first year, they’ve beaten Gonzaga, Kansas, Arizona and Iowa State. There’s a reason why,” Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said.
To be honest, there’s more than one reason, but they all kind of come back to DeVries being one heck of a mechanic.
He had most of his parts in place in the wins against Gonzaga and Arizona, meaning WVU guard Tucker DeVries was still in the lineup.
Against Kansas and Iowa State, the parts had been depleted. And so, DeVries tinkered. He motivated. He adapted.
“It just means we have to be different,” Darian DeVries said of his plans without Tucker. “When you lose a player like Tucker, the scoring and shooting, you have to find other ways to do that.
“We put it together originally, but plans have got to change when things happen.”
In essence, DeVries began to take bits and pieces from his original plan and constructed them into what still worked in order to keep the power on.
It was only a couple of weeks ago when WVU point guard Javon Small was being asked about being the Big 12 Player of the Year.
Small was still the one offensive piece that was working, so DeVries rewired the mainframe and bypassed the circuits and put whatever juice was left into the senior guard.
But, it’s likely very few these days are still believing Small is the top gun in the Big 12. He is an engine pumping out what he can, but needs help.
And DeVries simply doesn’t have any parts left on the shelves. There’s nothing left in the back to take apart or piece together to keep the engine running smoothly.
That’s where things currently stand with these Mountaineers.
Now, does that mean it’s time to start waving the flag of surrender?
Absolutely not, because there are still going to be some sparks. There are going to be some moments where guys like Jonathan Powell or Joseph Yesufu step up and provide some energy.
Amani Hansberry still has something left in the tank, maybe Toby Okani and Eduardo Andre, too.
And DeVries will take those moments and keep things interesting. Maybe it’s a road win at Cincinnati on Sunday or maybe it’s a season sweep of TCU or one last major upset against Baylor or Texas Tech.
Just know there’ll be some sputtering along the way, too, and it’s probably time we put to rest the notion that Tucker DeVries is going to come back this season.
As much of a boost that would be for morale, it just doesn’t make sense anymore. How long would it take for him to get back into basketball shape? How long would it take for him to get back to being Tucker DeVries again?
And for what? To challenge for a No. 9 seed in the NCAA tournament rather than a 10 seed? To finish sixth or seventh in the Big 12 rather than seventh or eighth?
Honestly, it’s a shame. For a moment, we were all witness to what Darian DeVries could put together when he had options.
There is no doubt whatsoever the program is in capable hands moving forward.
In the present, though, DeVries is simply a heck of a mechanic who no longer has enough parts to work with.
