BORDEN, Ind. – Darian DeVries addressed the media on Wednesday evening at Huber’s Winery at a Hoosiers Connect NIL event.
You can watch the full media availability here, but we’ve also transcribed DeVries’s comments, which are available below:
On three or four things he expects to be strengths next season:
“I’ll tell you a lot more here in about a week. The team gets here this weekend, so we’ll start workouts on Monday. I like the way the roster came together. I think we got great depth in shooting the basketball which is a priority for us. I think for the most part we got good positional size at a lot of the spots. At the center, we’re a little smaller but every other spot I think we got some great size here. And I think overall we’ve got great depth. I like the way I think the pieces will all connect together. They can complement each other pretty well. We’ll know a lot more here in the next couple of weeks but excited to get them on campus.”
On the injury status of Tucker DeVries:
“For the most part we’re getting closer. We’re waiting for that final clearance for the full contact. But he’s able to do all of the shooting drill work, lifting, modified a little bit. I think by the time we get rolling here this next week, maybe within that first week, we should be fully cleared for full contact and be good to go there.”
On how he’ll structure what they’ll try to accomplish this offseason:
“The nice part with taking a trip is we get those 10 extra practices. So we can spread it out and we’ll do maybe one a week where we can now get some extra film study in and do some install, that type of stuff. It maybe takes a little bit more time that you don’t have when you only have the four hours a week so that’s the way we’ll try to utilize that the most. And then you get those game opportunities but more importantly just some time to spend together when you got a whole new group and just try to build that cohesiveness on and off the floor. I think it’s a terrific time for us to try and go do that.”
On the remaining open roster spots:
“We still have a couple of open spots so we’re still actively recruiting to see if there’s something that fits and makes sense. And we can kind of go a lot of different directions with that as the roster stands today, we still have those two extra spots so we’ll see what that plays out like. But we are still actively recruiting.”
On what he learned from last offseason at West Virginia when he flipped the roster:
“I had to do it my first year at Drake, a very similar deal as well where I didn’t have a lot of guys returning so you’re kind of putting a whole new roster together. One of the advantages of it is when everybody you’re recruiting is bought into your vision in things and you’re not having to convince somebody who was returning of your vision. That part, there’s some benefit there. Obviously the downside is every single guy on the roster is new and the familiarity with the university and the town, everything is starting from scratch. I think the biggest thing is getting them all together, getting them on the same page and watching how that plays out in terms of roles and connectivity because you don’t have anything else to go off of other than that especially within the portal. There wasn’t long recruitments in a lot of cases with that stuff. So for us it’s about figuring things out as we go as well and they’re figuring one another out. They’re figuring out their new coaches. coaches are figuring out each other and the new players. But it’s also a fun process, too. It’s fun to see where it starts in June and and and where it ends up by the end in March.”
On the non-conference schedule with Kentucky, Marquette and Louisville:
“Yeah, I think those are some great games for us, terrific games regionally for sure. That’s a lot of fun for for both not only the teams but the fan bases and should present some some great challenges. You got a 20 game Big 10 schedule as well. So I think for us again it’s those those three games on our trip are going to are going to be important, too, because you just have to play and you got to figure some things out. The good and the bad and learning how to play with one another. So as we go through non-conference, we’re going to figure some things out in a hurry with some of those games that we have on the schedule. And try to get ourselves prepared for Big 10 play.”
On the event at Huber’s:
“Yeah, this is terrific, you know, for myself and our staff. And we got almost everybody down here because it seems like all we’ve been doing is just entertaining for recruiting and stuff. So, it’s nice to be able to get out and go meet some people, be able to kind of share just on a more personal level to meet as many fans and donors and things that. We’re excited to become a part of it. So, this is going to be a great event for us tonight in a lot of different ways to get out and meet so many people.”
On the status of the waivers for Anthony Leal and Luke Goode:
“Yeah, their waivers are still in process. My understanding is there’s been, as you probably all know, a ton of waivers have been filed. So I think there’s a little bit of a backup there. So from a timing standpoint, we don’t really have a lot of clarity on on when those decisions will be made. You know, sooner the better, but that’s really out of our control.”
On the biggest challenge in putting the roster together:
“Yeah, I think the biggest challenge you we want to make sure that everybody we’re bringing in is what we want not only for this year but for long term in terms of establishing who we want to be, what we want that to look like and making sure they can complement each other on the floor, off the floor and then also you’re putting the staff together simultaneously. So trying to balance both as as you’re going through it but at the same time not take any shortcuts to make sure we’re we’re doing this right from day one and if it takes a little longer, then it takes a little longer. But we try to do it as quickly as we could but also being very smart and calculated about it.”
On plan B scenarios if Goode and Leal don’t have their waivers approved:
That’s why we we’ve kind of held back a couple scholarships here, trying to see where this process plays out for them and then you make decisions based off that. And like I said, hopefully we’ll have a better idea on the timing of that stuff sooner than later to see where that all falls.”
On what he was looking for during the May evaluation period:
“Yeah, a lot of the same stuff we were just looking for in the portal. Now it’s just, you know, with the high school players. So we we want guys that are about the right things, good team guys, got a good feel and IQ, some skill level that we look for. And then again, does it fit kind of how we want that roster to look like, but, the feedback’s been great We feel like we’re in a a good place with with some of the guys we’re recruiting. We’re very excited about that and we’ll continue to work very hard at putting an emphasis on on the high school side of it.”
On if they were looking for players who had won in the portal:
“It’s certainly one of the factors, but it wasn’t something that they had to have. Over the years we’ve taken guys that maybe you know came from a a team that wasn’t that successful the year before. But it’s always an added benefit like were they able to help their team win. That’s a great quality to have as well. But we don’t make it so that’s the only guys that we we look at because sometimes there’s just situations where it wasn’t their fault necessarily. But it’s always nice when you can collect as many guys that know how to win and they care about winning because those those qualities tend to shine through pretty quickly.”
On how different roster building was this offseason versus last:
“Yeah, I think the biggest thing as everybody found out quickly was the NIL piece jumped dramatically in terms of what rosters we’re going to take to to kind of put together. Thankfully we’re at a place that is very supportive and have some great donors in place and people in place to help facilitate that. And we’re able to adjust on the fly as we were putting together a roster and anytime you’re in the portal, those things can get a little tricky as you’re trying to put that many guys on a roster at one time.”
On learning the character of players when recruiting the transfer portal:
“You have to you have to do as much of your work as you can and then it’s using your contacts, your connections with your staff, with other people around to find out as much information you can about each individual that you’re recruiting. Because as you mentioned that it can be a two, three, four week process, which is very soon, very quick. But for the most part, as you’re going through it, you have a pretty good idea as you’ve been out recruiting, watching these kids come through the high school ranks, go through their college ranks, you have a pretty good idea already on most people. And there’s always somebody that you can touch that has a a really good feel for what the kids about.”
On the most enjoyable part of the last couple of months:
“I think it’s been really fun to watch a the staff come together, watch the team come together, and now getting closer to getting on the practice floor. That’s what I’m really looking forward to. But as I said before, we just haven’t had a ton of time to get out in the community other than going to breakfast, lunch, and dinner with the recruits. Then you’re entertaining and showing showing everyone around. And watching that all come together now and getting that close to that finishing point where, okay, here’s our team, here’s our staff. Now, let’s go get to work on on the basketball portion of it.”
On if there’s been a moment where he’s felt the urgency from the fanbase to get the program back to where it used to be:
“I just think this this fan base is very passionate about it (winning). They care about it. They want to win. We want to win. So, I think we’re all in alignment there. That’s a good thing. I always tell people you want a a fan base that is is very passionate about their team and that they care. And that’s what we have and we’re excited to have them all be a part of that and we have those same expectations. So, we’re going to do everything we can to try to live up to those.”
On what he was looking for when putting together the coaching staff:
I think as you’re putting together a staff, you make sure you got a lot of different areas covered both on the floor, off the floor, recruiting regions of the country and experience, youthfulness, like there’s just a lot of things that go with it. And I’ve again, just like your team, you want to make sure they kind of complement one another and complement maybe my strengths or weaknesses. And then vice versa with everybody on the staff. I love the staff that we have right now and we’re looking forward to just getting on the floor working.”
On if there could be further staff additions:
“Yeah, there’s potential for maybe one more staff member. And then we mentioned with the players, another potential there for for a couple openings there as well.”
On the mix of shooters versus bigs and rim protection on defense:
“Tt’s pretty good. I don’t anticipate we us having great rim protection. You know, like I said, we’re a little undersized at the five spot. So, but there’s a lot of different ways. Rim protection isn’t always blocked shots. There’s a lot of ways to protect the rim. I think overall on paper, I like the balance we have. I think there’s a lot of things that we can play to and try to have as strengths. Again, that comes down to… we got to take it from paper to the floor. And that’s that process that starts here this next week.
On the five position:
Actually, I feel really good about the five. I like the guys we have. I think they fit how we want to play offensively especially. I think they have the ability to really have the ball in their hands and be facilitators and playmakers. I think we have good depth there. So,I like what those guys are going to bring. And there’ll be nights that they’ll be undersized on the defensive end, but there’s a lot of ways to offset that. Size doesn’t always determine how effective you can be as a defender or offensive player. So the right mindset goes a long ways and I think our guys will bring that mindset.”
Category: Media
Filed to: Darian DeVries
