West Virginia Basketball: Why Tucker DeVries is the most important team transfer for 2024-25

Things certainly did not go as planned last season at West Virginia. The dismissal of Bob Huggins led to a bit of a lame duck season, as interim coach Josh Eilert led the Mountaineers to a paltry 9-23 record, sitting at the bottom of the Big 12 standings. A few months ago West Virginia found their new leader, bringing Darian DeVries aboard to rejuvenate this program, and he had plenty of work ahead of him.

Last year’s big three seniors in the frontcourt are all gone, including Raequan Battle and Jesse Edwards, while Kerr Kriisa, Noah Farrakhan, and several other players transferred. Virtually none of the production from last season is back, with backup forward Ofri Naveh the lone exception. It’s a complete revamping of this rotation for a second straight offseason.

There isn’t time to focus on every new piece, but the Transfer Portal has been heavily utilized by DeVries and his staff. They nabbed both Amani Hansberry and Sencire Harris from Illinois, added Detroit super guard Jayden Stone, and got a great point guard in Javon Small, formerly of Oklahoma State. The Mountaineers added Joseph Yesufu, a point guard from Washington State who previously played at Drake for DeVries, but he’s not the only addition who fits that bill.

The highlight of the offseason is the head coach’s own son, as Tucker DeVries committed to West Virginia not long after his father was named coach. An impressive athlete, DeVries is a wing originally from the state of Iowa who has blossomed into one of the best mid-major players in recent years. He’s fresh off a junior year where he averaged 21.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game while knocking down 36% of his 3-pointers and taking the Bulldogs to another Big Dance.

DeVries has played elite ball for the best program in the MVC. Not only was he the conference’s top scorer each of the last two seasons, he was also named both MVC Player of the Year and Tournament MVP both times as well. He scores in bunches, he has great steals numbers, and he was a leader on a mid-major team that truly shined in recent years.

Ignoring that his father remains his head coach, DeVries is going to get plenty of opportunities to prove himself. He already showed that he can be an offensive menace in the MVC; it’s all about how he and this new-look lineup adjusts to life together in the Big 12. There’s no doubt that DeVries can be successful, he showed up when it mattered most for the Bulldogs, but what kind of numbers will he actually put up for the Mountaineers?

There are a lot of question marks for West Virginia and we shouldn’t expect a ton from the Mountaineers this season, but DeVries was one of the top names in the Transfer Portal. His leadership, experience, and potential in itself could bring a few more wins to Morgantown. Will it be enough to get West Virginia into contention in an even deeper Big 12? What does the future hold for both DeVries and his father moving forward?