Creighton HC Greg McDermott shared his thoughts on new Indiana Basketball coach Darian DeVries

Two days after Indiana Basketball was snubbed from the NCAA Tournament, Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Scott Dolson announced that Darian DeVries would be the next coach of the program.

The former West Virginia and Drake coach has a wealth of experience at the Division I level.

After finishing his playing career with Northern Iowa, DeVries joined Creighton as a graduate manager and was promoted to an assistant coach role in 2001.

DeVries served as an assistant coach for Creighton from 2001-2018 before leaving to become the head coach at Drake.

During that time he worked under Greg McDermott who took over as head coach in 2010.

Immediately after it was announced that DeVries would be taking over as head coach for Indiana Basketball, McDermott texted Jeff Goodman of Field of 68 about DeVries.

“D-rock is a grinder. His tireless work ethic and passion for bringing out the best in his players is unmatched,” McDermott texted. “He is an outside of the box thinker on both ends of the floor. Indiana hit a home run.”

McDermott was not the only one in his family to praise DeVries as his son and current Sacramento Kings forward Doug McDermott shared with Field of 68 that the new Indiana basketball coach was a key reason he committed to the program.

On Wednesday morning during Creighton’s media availability ahead of its First Round matchup with Louisville, McDermott spent a few minutes talking more in depth about DeVries — about 30 minutes before he was officially introduced as the IU head coach.

“I think it’s a terrific hire,” McDermott said. “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. Maybe having Doug 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.”

DeVries takes over a program that has missed the NCAA Tournament the last two years and he will look to bring the Hoosiers back to the top of the Big Ten.

SEE ALSO: West Virginia’s Darian DeVries set to become the new Indiana basketball head coach

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