Indiana
Darian DeVries: From The Farm To The Bright Lights Of Indiana
Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of stories on Darian DeVries’ background.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Aplington, Iowa, isn’t a place you will likely pass through by accident. To get to the city of 1,116 in north central Iowa, you have to try pretty hard.
The nearest main highway is U.S. Route 20, 10 miles away from Aplington. There are two exits that could lead you there, but neither of them mention Aplington as the main city on the exit signs. Aplington gets relegated to a smaller sign that advertises its existence, kind of the highway department version of making all-conference honorable mention.
Aplington is a typical small Iowa farm town. It sits on the banks of Beaver Creek, an old granger railroad line survives intact, and it has a nicely kept downtown like most upper Midwestern bergs. There is no stoplight, but there is a Casey’s gas station – this is Iowa after all.
As far as where Indiana basketball coach Darian DeVries grew up, you’re not even there yet. Just outside Aplington is the DeVries family farm.
“We had cattle, we had pigs – they’re not as much fun – we had a few horses here and there, sometimes some chickens, but for the most part it was cattle and pigs. It was a smaller farm, I think it was about 80 acres. Corn, beans, hay, all the fun stuff,” Darian DeVries said in an interview with Hoosiers On SI.
The DeVries family farm is the genesis of what Indiana is getting in its new basketball coach. Because if Darian DeVries has one characteristic that guides him, it’s his work ethic honed from growing up on a farm.
That work ethic has taken DeVries very far indeed.
Darian is the oldest of Vern and Marge DeVries’ five children. The work ethic instilled in all of the DeVries children served them well, especially when it came to sports.
“My work ethic has come from my childhood, no question, with my parents and my upbringing there,” DeVries said.
“I grew up on the farm, so you’re kind of instilled with a work ethic with everything you have to do to make the farm go with livestock and stuff like that,” DeVries said.
Darian wasn’t the only DeVries child to achieve at a high level. Darian’s best known sibling is Jared DeVries, an All-American defensive end for Iowa who played 12 years for the Detroit Lions. Jared DeVries is a high school coach in Iowa – and returned to farming, too.
Another brother, Dusty, also played football for the Hawkeyes. Youngest brother Jay played at Wartburg College. Sister Jodi played volleyball at Northern Iowa.
“My siblings are all kind of wired the same way. Hard work, competitive, that’s something that on an everyday basis, shines through in my day to day,” DeVries said.
DeVries attended high school in the early 1990s. Aplington High won two Iowa state titles during DeVries’ sophomore and junior seasons, but enrollment at Aplington was so small, he was part of a consolidation for his senior year.
He graduated from the consolidated Aplington-Parkersburg High School in 1993 and led A-P deep into the Iowa playoffs before they were beaten by MFL MarMac High School, featuring future NBA player Raef LaFrentz.
DeVries was induced into the Iowa High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 2015 as a basketball player. But he was also a quarterback – the Des Moines Register reported in 2018 that DeVries talked his new football coach at A-P into converting from a run-based offense to a pass-based offense to take advantage of his quarterback skills – and played other sports, too.
Playing multiple sports in a small town cures boredom, but it still takes an impressive work ethic to excel at the level DeVries did.
“When you grow up in a small town, and if you’re in athletics, you’re playing every sport. So you go from football to basketball to baseball to track. That’s just what you do. If you didn’t, there’s not enough people to play. So that’s kind of your thing,” DeVries recalled.
This was the Darian DeVries that Greg McDermott got to know. Now Creighton’s head basketball coach, McDermott was just getting started on his coaching career as an assistant at North Dakota in the early 1990s when he recruited DeVries. Little did McDermott know he’d later have DeVries on his coaching staff with the Bluejays.
“He was hard-nosed and intense, just like he is as a coach. He has always had a great understanding of the game and was essentially a coach on the floor,” McDermott said in an email exchange with Hoosiers On SI.
McDermott didn’t get his guy that time. DeVries chose to play at Northern Iowa, about a half-hour away from the family farm.
DeVries played for one-time Ohio State coach Eldon Miller at UNI and was the Panthers’ point guard from 1994-98. UNI had not yet reached its status as an annual Missouri Valley Conference contender in the 1990s, but the Panthers did have their best-ever season in the MVC to that point with DeVries on the team when they went 11-7 in 1997.
DeVries’ ambitions at the time were to become an elementary teacher and high school basketball coach, but Miller was able to convince then-Creighton coach Dana Altman to take DeVries on as a graduate assistant in 1998.
That decision altered DeVries’ life path, one that eventually took him to Bloomington.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Heavy rain, severe storms are possible Tuesday.
Monday:
We began the morning dry and relatively clear with very comfortable conditions. Expect clouds to slowly increase through the morning hours as a weakening system from the west approaches central Indiana.
We may see a few light showers develop across central and southern Indiana during the latter part of the morning and early afternoon.
Temperatures will be near normal, topping out in the low to mid-70s, with increased cloud cover this afternoon.
Monday night:
A surface low-pressure system will intensify just to our west, and an attached warm front will begin sliding north, crossing the Ohio River overnight. Both will increase our rain chances overnight.
Overnight lows will fall to the mid-50s.
Tuesday:
Widespread rainfall is expected across much of Tuesday as a storm complex moves through the state. Steady showers with a few rumbles of thunder are likely in the morning, with widespread rain and the potential for heavy downpours during the morning commute and beyond.
In the afternoon, instability will increase, potentially leading to strong or severe thunderstorms south of I-70. The Storm Prediction Center has placed this area under a slight risk for severe weather, with damaging winds, large hail, and the possibility of a tornado or two in the southern half of the state.
Flooding will also be a concern, especially in areas that experience multiple heavy downpours or thunderstorms. Rainfall totals of half an inch to one inch are expected across much of the state, with locally higher amounts possible.
High temperatures on Tuesday will reach the upper 60s to low 70s.
Wednesday:
The heaviest rain will clear by Wednesday morning. An upper-level trough will keep conditions cloudy with scattered light showers on and off through the day. Temperatures will be much cooler, with highs only in the low to mid-60s Wednesday afternoon.
7 day forecast:
On Thursday, lingering effects of the upper-level trough will bring a chance of light showers and seasonably chilly temperatures. The trough will begin to weaken on Friday, helping to break up the cloud cover. Temperatures will remain slightly cool, but conditions should be dry for Carb Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Friday afternoon.
High pressure will build to start the race weekend. Saturday looks pleasant with sunshine and slightly below-average temperatures. Race Day on Sunday will be slightly warmer, with a slight chance of showers. Specifics on timing and amounts remain uncertain, but major impacts to Race Day are not a significant concern at this time. Continue monitoring forecasts as the weekend approaches.
The Indiana state budget agency says revenues for April fell short of projections by more than $50 million.
Even though it was the first time in five months that revenue for the stay had failed to meet projections, Jane King, a NASDAQ analyst, says revenue collections for the state only missed by 1.7%. However, total collections rose more than 10% compared to the same month 2024.
After what King calls a “chaotic legislative session,” new towing laws have been passed by the Indiana General Assembly. Taking effect next month, new regulations for the towing industry will hold towing providers accountable, cap fees, and penalize “bad actors.”
The Indiana Dunes tourism region has unveiled a new initiative to weave together the region’s industrial heritage, cultural stories, and local communities. A host of towns, businesses, and residents along US Highway 12 in northern Indiana aim to build regional pride while highlighting the area’s balance between nature and industry.
Lilly is expanding its 360 Initiative partnership with Purdue University. The collaboration will accelerate pharmaceutical innovations. King says the partnership has the potential to be the largest ever industry-academic collaboration in the country. One goal is to bridge the gap between lab discoveries and clinical applications, while creating a more sustainable and efficient supply chain.
The stage has been set for what should be a thrilling Eastern Conference Finals.
After obliterating the Boston Celtics at home by 38 points to close out the series, the New York Knicks will host the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of the ECF on Wednesday.
This is the first time since 2000 that the Knicks have made it to the Eastern Conference Finals. A year prior was the last time they appeared in the NBA Finals. As for Indiana, Rick Carlisle’s squad got swept in last year’s ECF by the eventual champion Boston Celtics.
The Pacers have only one Finals appearance — and it occurred in 2000. Indiana defeated New York coincidentally before losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games.
Suffice it to say, but both of these franchises are starving for a shot at an NBA Title.
Read more: Kendrick Perkins Doesn’t Believe in Pacers Entering Eastern Conference Finals
Indiana and New York squared off versus one another three times in the regular season. Here are the scores of those games:
New York wins 123-98 (October 25th)
Indiana wins 132-121 (November 10th)
New York wins 128-115 (February 11th)
The Knicks won the only matchup at Madison Square Garden. The teams then split the other two games played at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. As one can see, none of these games were particularly close.
Will a similar story play out this way moving forward? It could depending on the game, where players may be fatigued on short rest, resulting in a blowout. This narrative has been occurring more and more in recent years, given the taxing level of playoff basketball.
Surely there are some things to take away from these initial meetings. At the same time, two of them occurred before Christmas. These teams are playing at a far greater level now compared to back then.
Indiana is a far deeper team. With the Pacers looking to push tempo and run the Knicks ragged in transition, there’s a world where Indiana could capitalize and punish New York by a substantial margin if Tom Thibodeau runs his team into the ground minutes-wise. There’s only one day of rest in-between each game of this series.
With a short bench, New York likely will be forced to log heavy minutes with its starters. Throw on top the emotion and grind of these games, and seeing a couple blowouts wouldn’t necessarily be a shock.
At the same time, these are two highly-competitive squads. For the fans’ sake across the NBA, let’s hope we get to see seven games coming down to the wire.
More Indiana Pacers news: Pacers’ Surprising Secret Weapon Has Fueled Dangerous Playoff Run
Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton Responds to LeBron James Praise
For more news and notes on the Indiana Pacers, visit Indiana Pacers on SI.
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