National college basketball reporter Jeff Goodman posted on X Tuesday that “West Virginia’s Darian DeVries has emerged as one of – if not the top candidate for the Indiana job,” according to a source.
But Goodman didn’t stop there, indicating that while DeVries could end up being hired by Indiana, “Drake’s Ben McCollum and a third ‘mystery’ candidate are still in the mix as well.”
DeVries has long been thought to be a favorite to end up at Iowa one day. He grew up in Iowa and his brother was a football star at the school.
But ESPN’s Pete Thamel added to the Tuesday smoke surrounding DeVries and IU when he reported DeVries is not a candidate for the Iowa job opening.
Goodman reported last week McCollum had emerged as a top candidate for the IU job too. He has been someone we’ve covered extensively here for a couple weeks and appears to continue to be in the picture as the search enters its final stage. For TDH’s in-depth profile on McCollum, GO HERE.
The buzz has been out there with DeVries for a week. The Daily Hoosier placed DeVries in Tier 1 of the Coaching Search Hot Board last Wednesday. For TDH’s in-depth profile on DeVries, GO HERE.
But who might the third “mystery” candidate be?
That’s been a tougher nut to crack as IU AD Scott Dolson has run a very tight search operation. That’s led to a continuing sense that there might eventually be a name who emerges from left field.
Of course everyone will point to the white whale, former Butler coach and current Boston Celtics executive Brad Stevens.
And then there’s prominent former coaches like Jay Wright, Billy Donovan and Tony Bennett.
There’s a contingent of IU fans who still want to believe in a former player like Dolson’s friend Steve Alford.
Those are some of the names who are difficult to believe Indiana will land. But with them all not currently coaching teams, any of them could be announced this week — a timeline that is beginning to seem more likely.
There’s also Northwestern’s Chris Collins, whose season is over and is being mentioned for multiple openings.
If no announcement comes ahead of the NCAA Tournament, it could mean the coach has a team still playing.
Among possible candidates still coaching teams, people like Buzz Williams, T.J. Otzelberger, Will Wade, Shaka Smart, Greg McDermott, Grant McCasland, Scott Drew and Mick Cronin are some of the longer shot possibilities who have been connected to the opening and are still out there.
For complete coverage of IU basketball’s 2025 coaching search, GO HERE.
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