Head Coach Darian DeVries sat down with “Voice of the Hoosiers” Don Fischer on Monday to make his “Inside IU Basketball” debut. Over the course of the hour-long show, Coach DeVries spoke on how he feels the Hoosiers are playing and what he wants to see from the team heading into the season opener against Alabama A&M.
Coach DeVries started the show by giving his thoughts on how he built the Hoosiers’ roster through the transfer portal and his philosophy towards coaching, saying, “I think winning and losing a lot of times, it starts with your staff and then recruiting, and that’s probably priority number one for us, is making sure we’ve got a good locker room, making sure we’ve got guys that are about the right things. I always say, when you get a locker room full of winners, you’re gonna win.”
DeVries continued to discuss the importance of culture saying, “You know we prioritized that as we [went] out and tried to put this roster together, making sure we got guys that had some toughness, they were unselfish, they were self-motivated players. You get them in, and then you kind of fit them in to how you want to play. We want to play fast, we want to play physical, and we want to be the aggressor on both ends of the floor, both offensively and defensively. I think guys want to come play that style. You know guys still want to come and be a part of something; that team identity, I think, is really appealing to a lot of people still, and that’s what we have right now, and that’s why I can’t wait to get out there on Wednesday night and let these guys go.”
For DeVries, IU’s season opener against Alabama A&M will be a chance to showcase both this new roster and the culture he is building in Bloomington.
“We want to make sure we get guys that are about the right stuff, and that culture piece is huge. This is now my 28th year of coaching, and I had two great mentors in Dana Altman and Greg McDermott, and I’ve seen a lot of rosters put together. I’ve seen what works, and I’ve seen what can tear a locker room apart…I think our culture that we have here in this first year is tremendous; I love the guys in our locker room. They’re a lot of fun to coach every day; they’re hungry, they’re eager to learn, and again, I’m ready for them to get out there and show what they can do.” He said.
Part of that culture is embracing the fans all around the state of Indiana. “I think our guys understand and have an appreciation for the Indiana uniform and where we’re at in the game of basketball…they wanted to make sure that they got a chance to introduce themselves to our fans, because in college basketball that relationship between the fanbase and the team is critical. You have to have a huge home court advantage. So for them to get the opportunity to meet people out in our community is something we’ve really prioritized.” DeVries said.
One player that fans have not had the chance to see much of is Elon transfer Nick Dorn, who has been recovering from a foot injury. Coach DeVries provided an encouraging update on Dorn’s status.
“We do hope to have Nick [Dorn] available for Wednesday, so that was great news for us. He got a good report today, so that was awesome for us, but we’ll still see a little bit on Wednesday what that looks like for him because he’s still working his way back into getting back in shape and going through full practices, which he was starting to do last week. Excited to get him out there and see what he can do, but certainly on the right track on getting him back sooner rather than later.” DeVries said.
This is phenomenal news for the Hoosiers, as they get a key piece of their offense back just in time for the season to start. This news seems to have invigorated the Indiana squad, who are excited to get the season underway.
“We’re excited to get out there…they’re definitely ready. I had the seniors over at my house last night, and talking with them, their excitement level on a scale of one to ten was anywhere from twelve to one hundred.” Coach DeVries said.
While Alabama A&M might not be the toughest opponent the Hoosiers will face all year, Coach DeVries is not letting his team overlook anyone.
“Like I’ve told the guys, we have 31 regular season games, and we’ll give everybody 100% of our respect. Our goal is to win on Wednesday night, and we have two days to prep for it today and tomorrow of true game plan type stuff. We need to make sure we don’t let anything slip by us and we’re prepared and ready to go when we toss that ball up on Wednesday.” DeVries explained.
Looking past the season opener on Wednesday, DeVries previewed the Hoosiers matchup against Marquette on Sunday. “Yeah, it should be a great game for us too. Get a neutral site venue in Chicago…it should be an electric atmosphere and a great challenge for us early in the year.” He said.
Ultimately, regardless of who Indiana is playing, Coach DeVries wants his team to have the same mindset. “We’re preparing to win. We’re trying to win Wednesday, we’re trying to win Sunday, we’re gonna try and win next Tuesday, and our expectation is every time we toss that ball up, we’re gonna try and win that game.”
With that, the show came to an end as Coach DeVries continues to get this team ready for Wednesday’s season opener against Alabama A&M.