DeVries hired as Drake men's hoops coach

DES MOINES - Darian DeVries, a long-time assistant coach for Creighton men's basketball, was announced as the next Drake men's basketball head coach by school officials on Thursday morning.

 

DeVries follows Niko Medved, who left the Bulldog coaching position after one season for a head-coaching job in Colorado State. He's been on Creighton's coaching staff since 1998 when he joined as a graduate assistant, and since 2001 he's been an assistant coach on Dana Altman and Doug McDermott's staffs.

 

"I'm so blessed and humbled to have this opportunity to lead the Drake men's basketball program," DeVries said in an official Drake press release. "The city of Des Moines is an awesome place to be and we can't wait to show it off to future recruits. When you have a great academic institution combined with a vibrant city and people that go out of their way to help one another, it's a recipe for sustained success."

 

DeVries, 42, is a graduate of Aplington-Parkersburg High School who was on Aplington's 1992 state championship team and was named second-team all-state that year. He went on to start at the University of Northern Iowa under head coach Eldon Miller.

 

Creighton's record while DeVries has been on staff is 460-211 and DeVries recently assisted the Bluejays to their fifth NCAA Tournament appearance in the last seven seasons.

 

"Darian has had a significant role in creating a tremendous level of sustained success at Creighton over the past 20 years and I'm thrilled he has accepted this opportunity to lead our men's basketball program," Drake athletics director Brian Hardin said. "I'm excited to welcome a native Iowan back home and I look forward to our community helping Darian take the Drake men's basketball team to the top of the Missouri Valley Conference."

 

DeVries was inducted into the Iowa High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 2015 for his success with the Aplington and Aplington-Parkersburg basketball programs. DeVries and his wife, Ashley, have one son, Tucker, 16; and a daughter, Tatum, 10.

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