New IU basketball coach Darian DeVries learned from two March Madness regulars.
Oregon’s Dana Altman and Creighton’s Greg McDermott both advanced to the round of 32 this week as DeVries was announced as the next man up in Bloomington.
DeVries was an assistant coach at Creighton for 18 years, with half of that time coming under Altman, and half under McDermott. He joined Creighton as a graduate manager and spent a total of 20 years at the school. During his time there, he was part of 19 postseason appearances and 12 NCAA Tournament bids.
Both Altman and McDermott took questions about DeVries this week at their NCAA Tournament media availabilities:
DANA ALTMAN ON DEVRIES
“Well, first of all, I’m really happy for he and his family. D-Rock came to work for me, he was just getting married to Ashley and they started their family, he was with me for 12 years at Creighton,” Altman said.
“He’s a really good basketball coach, really energetic, great basketball mind. He’ll do a tremendous job for Indiana. Our league just got a little better, because he’s really good. And Mike (Woodson) was really good, I don’t mean it in that regard. I just, I know that Darian’s really good. And when somebody works with you for 12 years, you really get a good feel for how they pick things up, how they relate to people, how they relate to the players.
“And in my opinion, for whatever that’s worth, I just think he’s really good. I think he’s really talented. I think he works really hard. He’s got a wonderful family. I think he’ll represent Indiana and the Big Ten really well.”
GREG MCDERMOTT ON DEVRIES:
“I think it’s a terrific hire, D-Rock was with me for eight years. I kept him on staff from Coach Altman’s staff when I got the job at Creighton, and it was the single best decision I made when I got there,” McDermott said. “Maybe having Doug (McDermott) join me was a close second.
“But he’s such a worker and such a grinder. He has a way of connecting with people and bringing the best out in his players because they’re going to see the passion on a daily basis that he goes about coaching his team. He’s got a wonderful family. They’re going to fit great in Bloomington, and I think they will be very happy with the results.”
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