Marquette Basketball: 5 candidates to replace Steve Wojciechowski as head coach
By Joey Loose
Darian DeVries
It doesn’t matter that Marquette wasn’t a top program these last few years, there are still plenty of young coaches out there who could turn things around. If Marquette isn’t looking for a young, unproven assistant, then DeVries presents as the perfect young coach with recent successful head coaching experience.
After growing up in Iowa and playing his college ball at Northern Iowa, DeVries’s coaching career began with a nearly two-decade stint on the staffs of Dana Altman and Doug McDermott at Creighton, including five years in the Big East with the Bluejays. He rose to prominence when he was hired as head coach at Drake three seasons ago. He’s won at least 20 games in all three seasons at the helm, with this year’s team not only one of the nation’s final unbeaten teams but also having already pulled off an NCAA Tournament victory in the First Four.
DeVries has already done more at Drake than Wojciechowski did in twice as long with the Golden Eagles. He’s an energetic and impressive young head coach with many years ahead of him. DeVries is the kind of guy that’s going to get one of these power conference coaching jobs one day very soon, especially after the success he’s created with the Bulldogs. Would this two-time MVC Coach of the Year provide that same kind of spark in the Big East?