Dana Altman on new Indiana basketball HC Darian DeVries: ‘Our league just got a little better’

Oregon head coach Dana Altman has been on the sidelines for nearly 50 years as an assistant and head coach and has accounted for 780 wins as a head coach at the division I level. 12 seasons overlapped with new Indiana basketball head coach Darian DeVries while at Creighton.

After three years as a graduate manager under Altman, DeVries stepped into a role as an assistant coach, a position he would keep throughout the rest of Altman’s tenure in Omaha. Together, the two of them made it to seven NCAA Tournaments, with four coming after DeVries become a full-time staffer.

So as Altman was preparing for Oregon’s Round of 32 matchup against Arizona, he was asked about DeVreis taking over the Indiana basketball program and adding to the Big Ten, the league Altman and the Ducks joined just one year ago.

“Well, first of all, I’m really happy for he and his family,” Altamn said. “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. 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.”

Ironically enough, Oregon and Altman knocked Indiana out of the Big Ten Tournament this season in what was the final game of the Mike Woodson tenure.

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

DeVries arrives at Indiana after one season with West Virginia and six years before that at Drake. He’s 168-69 in his career as a head coach and is a two-time MVC Coach of the Year (2019, 2021) and a finalist for the Hugh Durham National Coach of the Year Award in 2024, the honor given to the top mid-major coach in the country.

SEE ALSO: ‘You can’t win if you don’t make shots’: Darian DeVries bringing ‘modern playing style’ of offense to Indiana basketball and it revolves around shooting 3s

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