College basketball reddit reacts to Indiana hiring Darian DeVries

Indiana got its man.

After narrowly missing the NCAA Tournament under Mike Woodson, the Hoosiers are hiring Darian DeVries to a six-year contract to be their next head coach, per ESPN's Pete Thamel.

A successful head coach in past stints at Drake and West Virginia, DeVries arrives in Bloomington alongside his son, Tucker, one of college basketball's most potent shooters.

This is a tremendous hire at first blush. Time will tell, of course — Indiana is a new challenge, both in terms of competition and media scrutiny — but DeVries has a career record of 169-68 as a head coach. He went 19-13 in his lone season at West Virginia, where his son was limited to just eight games by injury. The Mountaineers were easily the most egregious snub from this season's March Madness bracket, with several quality wins (Iowa State, Gonzaga, Kansas, Arizona) that should have put them ahead of a team like North Carolina.

Before his wonky season in Morgantown, DeVries made three March Madness appearances in six seasons at Drake. He won the Missouri Valley Tournament in 2023 and 2024. Prior to his career as a head coach, DeVries spent 20 years as an assistant under Dana Altman and Greg McDermott at Creighton.

Naturally, Indiana fans and the college basketball community at large have some thoughts.

Indiana, college basketball fans react to Darian DeVries replacing Mike Woodson as head coach

While Indiana fans are generally content with the hire, the expeditious nature of DeVries' arrival has some concerned about the process.

"Hopefully this wasn’t just because he’s the best available coach not in the tournament," wrote WorldRunner3 on the R/HoosiersBasketball. "While I’m glad they can start recruiting right away now I would have preferred to be patient if it was possible to get someone better."

Others are even more pessimistic.

"The days of Indiana being able to attract a top tier coach are over," writes jlennon1280.

Those of a more positive disposition point to the arrival of Tucker DeVries, who immediately brings a new offensive dynamic to a Hoosiers team in desperate need.

"He is bringing his son, who is one of the better players in the country when healthy," wrote Coolman2909.

X was also ripe with reactions to the big news.

If you're less inclined to put stock into the opinion of fans and internet analysts, perhaps take heed of DeVries' former boss at Creighton, Greg McDermott. Here's what the Bluejays head coach texted to Jeff Goodman shortly after DeVries' move to Indiana was announced.

"Drock is a grinder. His tireless work ethic and passion for bringing out the best in his players is unmatched. He is an outside of the box thinker on both ends of the floor. Indiana hit a home run."

While DeVries does not necessarily bring with him the biggest personality, he's a sharp X's and O's coach with an increasingly long track record of success at multiple levels of the college basketball hierarchy. For an Indiana program in flux, DeVries feels like the sort of coach who can put an immediate winner on the floor. Especially if his son can stay healthy.

The Hoosiers are moving back in the right direction after a turbulent few years under Woodson. Nothing is certain this early in the process, but it feels like a good hire, even if Indiana rushed to get this across the finish line.