1. Darian DeVries - West Virginia
A while ago, Darian DeVries was mentioned as a potential candidate, but there were no whispers of mutual interest. That all changed on Monday after the West Virginia Mountaineers were stunningly left out of the NCAA Tournament, and DeVries’s name began to be heavily linked to the IU opening. The former Northern Iowa player was an assistant for Dana Altman and Greg McDermott at Creighton before becoming the head coach at Drake. Before his arrival, Drake was a mess. The Bulldogs had gone 15-16, 9-22, 7-24, 7-24, and 17-17 in the five previous years, but DeVries quickly turned them around and went 24-10, 20-15, 26-5, 25-11, 27-8, and 28-7 in his six seasons. He took the West Virginia job ahead of the 2024 season, and the Mountaineers had just finished 9-23 and were in the cellar of the Big 12. DeVries brought his son, Tucker, with him after he won the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year twice in a row and a solid portal haul. Still, WVU was expected to finish near the bottom of the league. They beat Gonzaga, took Louisville to overtime, and beat Arizona in the Battle 4 Atlantis. However, they lost Tucker DeVries for the season to an injury, finished 19-13 and 10-10 in the Big 12, and should have been in the NCAA Tournament. DeVries has been confirmed by Pete Thamel as no longer a candidate at Iowa. West Virginia has offered him an extension, but if the reported IU interest is genuine, DeVries could be announced as the coach in Bloomington very soon.
