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Drake basketball: 2021-22 season preview and outlook for Bulldogs

By Harry Schroeder

Drake head basketball coach Darian DeVries talks with sophomore Roman Penn in the first half against Northern Iowa at the Knapp Center in Des Moines on Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020.20200229 Drakevsuni
Drake head basketball coach Darian DeVries talks with sophomore Roman Penn in the first half against Northern Iowa at the Knapp Center in Des Moines on Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020.20200229 Drakevsuni /
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Drake Basketball (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

Drake basketball has become a power in the Missouri Valley Conference. When Darian DeVries arrived in Des Moines three years ago, Drake had achieved just two winning seasons in the last ten years and hadn’t won 20 games since 2008.

Three years later, the Bulldogs have piled up three, 20-win seasons and are heading for more. Drake returns virtually its whole team from last year’s 26-5 team that finished one game behind Loyola for the regular-season title and won an NCAA Tournament game.

DeVries was a longtime assistant at Creighton where the Bluejays routinely won MVC championships and tournament titles before moving to the Big East. During DeVries’ 20 years in Omaha, the Bluejays won 460 games, four MVC regular-season titles, and eight Arch Madness crowns.

The 45-year-old head coach knows the blueprint to Missouri Valley’s success.

When the NCAA granted players an extra year of eligibility five of DU’s top six players elected to return to Drake basketball for another chance at college hoops success. In a very deep and experienced Missouri Valley Conference the Bulldogs, Loyola Chicago, Northern Iowa, and Missouri State should put on a historic four-team battle for the Valley regular-season crown.

Drake has added Iowa’s ‘Mr. Basketball’ to its veteran squad and brings another dimension to DU’s high-powered offense. Tucker DeVries (the head coach’s son) was a Top-100 recruit and stayed in Des Moines to play for his father and for his hometown team.