Last week, West Virginia head coach Darian DeVries was named the recipient of the Jim Phelan National Cach of the Year award. By the end of the season, he just might be the National Coach of the Year.

All the first-year Mountaineer head coach has done is begin the season with a 13-4 (4-2) record and win three of four matchups against top 25 teams, two of which were ranked inside the top three at the time of their defeat. Winning games you shouldn’t is a mark of a good coach, but for those on the outside who haven’t paid close attention to the Mountaineers, the job that DeVries is doing is incredible.

His son, Tucker, is one of the top two players on the team and has missed the last nine games as he continues to nurse an upper-body injury. One of their key bench pieces, Jayden Stone, has yet to appear in a game this season due to an undisclosed injury. Because of the injuries, WVU is limited to just an eight-man rotation with only seven playing the majority of the minutes.

ESPN college hoops analyst Fran Fraschilla commented on the Mountaineers’ hot start under DeVries following the win over Iowa State.

“I watched the Iowa State-West Virginia tape this morning. I’ve always been a fan of Javon Small. He is getting his due. But the coaching job that I’m watching, offensively and defensively, is ‘national coach of the year’ worthy by Darian DeVries. They are heading to the NCAA tournament at this point.”

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