West Virginia head coach Darian DeVries understands the challenges of the Big 12.
The 16-team configuration of the league will add Arizona, Utah, Colorado and Arizona State to a conference that already boasts some of the premier programs in the country.
“The Big 12 is what I think is the best league, especially this upcoming year when you look at it from top to bottom,” DeVries said on The College Hoops Today Podcast with Jon Rothstein. “It’s loaded with really, really good teams. That part is exciting.”
DeVries has been tasked with rebuilding the West Virginia program since he was hired in late March. The former Drake head coach retained only a single player from last season’s roster in forward Ofri Naveh and has added 10 new scholarship players into the mix. That means that the Mountaineers will be almost a completely different outfit from a season ago where they finished 9-23.
But the coaching staff is excited for the challenge.
“I know we’re really excited. We understand how great the league is. We understand the fan bases in this league and how tough it is on the road,” DeVries said.
On top of a challenging non-conference slate that will feature three games in the Battle for Atlantis as well as matchups on the road at Pittsburgh and home against Georgetown and Massachusetts, West Virginia will play a total of 20 games within the Big 12. And that will be no easy task squaring off against the quality of programs that is spread out throughout the league.
Still, DeVries is excited about how his team has come together thus far with so many new faces. The first year Mountaineers head coach likes the way that his team has come together in terms of chemistry and the pieces on the roster all seem to fit together on the floor.
DeVries has been especially impressed with how his team is embracing the challenges ahead.
“I’m excited about the team we have as we continue to grow and get ourselves ready to go compete against the best of the best,” DeVries said.
The goal for the duration of the summer is to get the team as ready as possible to compete for a potential conference championship and a spot in the NCAA Tournament. But that won’t be an easy task with how difficult the Big 12 can be from top to bottom.
Fortunately, the Mountaineers will have an overseas trip to Italy to help with that process.
“Let’s get as good as we possibly can and hopefully the wins follow that,” he said.
