Drake hires Darian DeVries as new basketball coach
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Drake has hired longtime Creighton assistant Darian DeVries as its basketball coach.
The Bulldogs announced Thursday that DeVries will replace Niko Medved, who last week left after one season at Drake to take over at Colorado State.
DeVries, a native of Aplington, Iowa, and the brother of former Detroit Lions star Jared DeVries, spent the past 17 years as an assistant with the Bluejays under coaches Dana Altman and Greg McDermott. Creighton made 12 NCAA Tournament appearances and went 460-211 with DeVries on its staff.
DeVries will be Drake's fourth coach in the last 16 months. Ray Giacoletti left early in the 2016-17 season and was followed by interim coach Jeff Rutter and Medved.
The 42-year-old DeVries played at Northern Iowa, where he scored 1,084 points.
DeVries will be introduced Friday at a news conference.
''The city of Des Moines is an awesome place to be and we can't wait to show it off to future recruits,'' he said in statement. ''When you have a great academic institution combined with a vibrant city and people that go out of their way to help one another, it's a recipe for sustained success.''
Drake, which has made just one NCAA Tournament appearance since 1972, went 17-17 last season under Medved. But most of the Bulldogs' starters graduated, and a long rebuild will likely be required for them to compete with the rest of the Missouri Valley Conference.
DeVries is the first major hire for athletic director Brian Hardin, who took over for Sandy Hatfield-Clubb in 2017.
''Darian has had a significant role in creating a tremendous level of sustained success at Creighton over the past 20 years,'' Hardin said.
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