Kelvin Sampson Firmly Believes WVU Has a Bright Future with Darian DeVries

The Houston Cougars head coach thinks a lot of the first-year Mountaineer header.
Ben Queen-Imagn Images

An already long list of opposing coaches that have complimented the job Darian DeVries has done at West Virginia continues to grow. Following last night's 63-49 loss to No. 6 Houston, Cougars head coach Kelvin Sampson was very complimentary of the head Mountaineer.

“In Darian’s first year, they’ve beaten Gonzaga, they’ve beaten Kansas, they’ve beaten Arizona, they’ve beaten Iowa State. There’s a reason why. Coming in here today, if you would have told me we were going to win by one, we wouldn’t have played the game. Win by one point and go home. You’ve got that two-game road trip at Kansas and at West Virginia…this ain’t no beauty contest. They don’t put no pictures beside the score. It’s just a win.

“The job Darian has done here…I don’t know if his son would have been their best player but those two guys together would have been a problem. I don’t lose sight of that. But West Virginia’s got a lot of good days ahead of them. They’ve got them a really good ball coach now. You’ll get good players here with this crowd and the tradition of this basketball program. It’s really good."

West Virginia University head coach Darian DeVries
West Virginia University head coach Darian DeVries / Christopher Hall - West Virginia on SI

While the current three-game losing skid feels like the beginning of a second-half-of-the-season collapse, you have to pause and think about where this team would be if they didn't beat the four ranked teams (three top-10) they've been able to take down. They overachieved in the first half of the year and the lack of depth and brutal Big 12 schedule is starting to catch up with them.

Regardless of how the rest of this season plays out, DeVries has shown that he can do some special things here, and that's how folks should view this season. This group was never going to the Final Four. Not in year one. But to notch some big wins in the belt this early in the tenure is a sign that Wren Baker got it right.

MORE STORIES FROM WEST VIRGINIA ON SI

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West Virginia Battles No. 6 Houston but Falls Short (Again)


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Schuyler Callihan
SCHUYLER CALLIHAN

Publisher of Mountaineers Now on FanNation/Sports Illustrated. Lead recruiting expert and co-host of Between the Eers, Walk Thru GameDay Show, Mountaineers Now Postgame Show, and In the Gun Podcast.