Indiana’s newest coach, Darian DeVries, has caused some heads to turn and conspiracy theories to fly since he signed on to be the Hoosiers’ new coach after a shocking end to his first and last year at West Virginia.
The Hoosiers quickly announced DeVries as their new head coach after the Mountaineers were snubbed from the NCAA Tournament following a crushing loss to last-place Colorado in the Big 12 Tournament.
“Yeah, obviously the process is the process,” DeVries said. “I know how it plays out. As you’re going through their season, they were very respectful of making sure that my focus continued to be on our team and certainly appreciated that.”
Some fans are taking those words as an admission that DeVries, whose son played for him at West Virginia and missed most of the season due to a shoulder injury, preserving another year of eligibility, had this deal done during the Mountaineers’ season.
And it led to some unfounded accusations from Mountaineers fans.
“Here it is…. Darian DeVries openly admitting this was done during the season,” X account @TheBenBoothShow said in an X post. “There’s no denying they flat out held Tucker back to save him for next season at Indiana.”
Indiana and head coach Mike Woodson announced they were parting ways in early February.
DeVries added in his opening statement that he did not plan on leaving West Virginia so soon — after one 19-13 season — but that the Indiana job was a dream come true.
“One year ago today, I took the West Virginia job after I’d left Drake University because I felt like it was a great fit for myself, for my family. It had an administration that I greatly respected and a fan base that was very supportive and a community that was filled with great people,” DeVries said.
“Obviously, my intention was to continue down that path and build on the progress that we made during this first year. However, the opportunity came along to possibly be the head coach at Indiana, a dream job for anyone, but especially for someone that grew up in the Midwest watching the old Big 8 and Big 10 basketball.”
Tucker’s shoulder injury limited him to eight early-season games in which he averaged 15 points and five rebounds per game.
West Virginia still could have made the field of 68 despite the embarrassing loss to Colorado as 7.5-point favorites.
Oddsmakers at DraftKings still gave the Mountaineers a 70.59 percent chance to make the tournament (-240 odds) before Sunday’s Selection Show that saw North Carolina shockingly steal the last bid.
West Virginia players sarcastically reacted to DeVries’ departure by cryptically tweeting “Lol,” and star player Javon Small also posted laughing emojis on his Instagram.