Indiana University Athletic Director Scott Dolson Gives More Specifics Behind Darian DeVries Hiring

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BLOOMINGTON, Ind.–Indiana University Athletic Director Scott Dolson discussed more of the details about what went into hiring Darian DeVries as the next IU men’s basketball head coach.

Dolson said he had no problem signing DeVries to a six-year contract.

“We are confident in Darian being a long-term fit. We feel like in Darian, we found exactly what we were looking for,” said Dolson.

Dolson and his search firm spent a long time during the hiring process looking at data and analytics from various coaching candidates.

“We looked at the records for coaches in prior to them arriving at their previous programs. In terms of offensive performance, we looked at how many three-point shots were they making, how many threes are taking, and how does that relate to other coaches? So yeah, we looked at a lot,” said Dolson.

What stood out to Dolson was how DeVries propelled Drake to a level of success it had not known in 50 years, and improved West Virginia by 10 wins just one season, despite losing his best player (who also happens to be his son) after just eight games.  Dolson says he’s never had a conversation with DeVries and not enjoyed it.

“The type of person he is is really important to us. I really like him a lot. He’s going to be a big part of what we do at IU,” said Dolson.

Drake had won just 40 games in the four years before DeVries arrived, compared to 95 in his first four years as the Head Coach.

Dolson acknowledges that plenty of fans have wanted to see a men’s basketball coach similar to IU Head Football Coach Curt Cignetti, who just finished leading IU football to a College Football Playoff appearance and it’s best season in program history.

“There are lots of similarities between Coach DeVries and Coach Cig. Just like with Coach Cig, Darian has a really great blueprint for what he wants to do,” said Dolson.

Dolson is confident that DeVries will not only be a great basketball coach, but also a wonderful ambassador for the program.

“We also are still about educating young people. It’s so much more than just the basketball part. It’s not just about managing the roster or the transfer portal. It’s about all the life stuff too and everything going on off the court as well,” said Dolson.

You can hear the full interview with Dolson below.