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McCollum

"Played well against teams that trounced Woodson" isn't exactly a ringing endorsement.

I hope he works out, but need to see the wins first.
Playing well against those teams early in the season after WVU won 9 games in the previous season is impressive whether you think so or not.
 
‘Supporting the speculation’ would indicate that it lends credibility to and your point doesn’t do that. It is just is another reason you are speculating speculate.
Certainly it's all speculation. But the fact that he stayed at a D2 school for 15 years when he surely could have moved up would indicate that he isn't in it for the money or the celebrity. He's not going to go to IU just because it's IU.
 
Playing well against those teams early in the season after WVU won 9 games in the previous season is impressive whether you think so or not.
It is but he still needs to win here first before alot of us totally get on board. Been burned too many times with the last few hires.
 
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It is but he still needs to win here first before alot of us totally get on board. Been burned too many times with the last few hires.
Yep. He wasn't my first choice not even top 10 but he's our coach now and he has my full support. Cautiously optimistic. I felt the same with woody.
 
No one is disputing this, but 11 of those 12 titles were in the MIAA conference. Here's the team's he faced at Northwest Missouri State:

University of Arkansas–Fort Smith
University of Central Missouri
University of Central Oklahoma
Emporia State University
Fort Hays State University
Missouri Southern State University
Missouri Western State University
University of Nebraska at Kearney
Newman University
Northeastern State University
Northwest Missouri State University
Pittsburg State University
Rogers State University
Washburn University

He adds one impressive year in the MVC at Drake, I'll give you that but neither of these stints include any work at the Division 1 level. This is exactly why DeVries was chosen over Ben McCollum. Could he do it? Who knows. But, no AD with sanity would take that big of a risk, given the last two debacles we've had to endure. This one had to be more sure and DeVries has two or three key elements that put him in a different category.

- Creighton Assistant Coach
Under Dana Altman from 2001-2010 (9 years)
Under Greg McDermott 2010-2018 (8 years)
- Drake Head Coach

DeVries became a head coach for the first time when he accepted the job at former conference rival Drake in March 2018.[3]

DeVries' helped the Bulldogs program start the season with 9–2 record, the program's best open to a season since 2007–08. The Bulldogs win over Valparaiso Feb. 16 was the team's 20th win of the season to mark the sixth 20-win season in program history. This accomplishment came after inheriting the second-fewest returning letter winners in the nation.

Following that start, starting point guard and potential MVC Larry Bird Player of the Year candidate Nick Norton suffered a season-ending knee injury in the first game of the MVC season. DeVries' team proceeded to win four of its next five games to move into a tie for third place in the league standings. At the close of the 2018–19 season, he was named MVC Coach of the Year.[4]

In his next season, DeVries made history as the first coach to lead an 8-seed to a win over the 1-seed in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament ("Arch Madness"), defeating UNI 77–56.[5]

DeVries' success at Drake continued in the 2020–21 season where he took the team to a 18–0 start which included the Bulldogs' inclusion in the AP Top 25 poll. After losing two of their top players to injury, DeVries' led Drake to their first at-large NCAA Tournament bid in years, and their first NCAA tournament win in 50 years to the day with a win over former Valley foe Wichita State. DeVries was also named MVC Coach of the Year for the second time in three years. In March 2021, DeVries signed an 8-year contract extension with Drake, keeping him in Des Moines through the 2028–29 season.[6]

West Virginia Head Coach
- with an entirely new roster, except for one player, improved their record from 9 wins to 19, against a #30 Strength of Schedule.
- Beat #3 Gonzaga, #24 Arizona, #7 Kansas (at Kansas), #2 Iowa State.

Bottom line: Division 1 experience
- Darian DeVries 18 years
- Ben McCollum 0 years
In March 2021, DeVries signed an 8-year contract extension with Drake, keeping him in Des Moines through the 2028–29 season.[6]

Lol. Not quite.
 
You should factor in they made the right decision.

They certainly knew who he was and knew they didn’t want him as their HC.

(You really should stop shaking your head.)
That's twice today. I need to start using the DWS.

Im sure Duke has no regrets in having passed on Collins. Likewise, I'm not at all disappointed that IU did the same. He had a few seasons of bully ball & Bouie.
 
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Yep. He wasn't my first choice not even top 10 but he's our coach now and he has my full support. Cautiously optimistic. I felt the same with woody.
I thought Woodson was a horrible hire from day one. At lest this guy has college experience and will most likely work hard. In fact the way I looked at the Woodson hire was you may as well of kept archie because he was not going to be any better imo. And if not for NIL I bet he would have been worse than archie
 
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I thought Woodson was a horrible hire from day one. At lest this guy has college experience and will most likely work hard. In fact the way I looked at the Woodson hire was you may as well of kept archie because he was not going to be any better imo. And if not for NIL I bet he would have been worse than archie
Like I said. Woodson wasn't in my top 10 but when he was named I was cautiously optimistic. At that point you have no choice.
 
Like I said. Woodson wasn't in my top 10 but when he was named I was cautiously optimistic. At that point you have no choice.
People tried to convince themselves it could work because Juwuan Howard had a few good years at first coming from the NBA. But he flammed out after that. Also, my guess is he worked 5 times harder than woodson did.
 
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He signed the extension. It didn't keep him in Des Moines through 2028-9. In fact, he'll now have worked for two different other schools before that extension would have expired, and if he shits the bed here, he might land at a third school.
I guess you're one of those that drove that same 77 Ford to the same company for 30 years while you paid off that one 30-year mortgage?

Interesting how you turned two positives into two negatives.
 
I guess you're one of those that drove that same 77 Ford to the same company for 30 years while you paid off that one 30-year mortgage?

Interesting how you turned two positives into two negatives.
I'm not trying to turn anything into a negative. I quit a job with a pension to start my own firm and it worked out great. You should save your assumptions and project your agendas on other people.

My car is old, but that's just good money management. Cars are tools, not lifestyle decorations.

I just think it's funny that everyone kinda plays along with the charade of these contract lengths. Everyone knows your contract has to be well into the future to project stability to recruits, but that also means that everyone knows that contract will never be completed. The coach will either get fired before the end, or will do well and leave, or do well and renegotiate. In no circumstance will that contract actually get finished. And everyone knows that. It's a humorous but useful facade. I find that funny.

Not trying to shit on CDD. I hope it goes great here. Dolson is a better AD than I'd be.
 
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