Drake basketball's Tucker DeVries enters transfer portal after Darian DeVries' departure
Drake basketball officially lost the biggest piece of the puzzle on Wednesday when Tucker DeVries – son of former Bulldogs coach Darian DeVries – entered the transfer portal. On3 Sports was the first to report the news.
These reports come a day after DeVries was scheduled to undergo shoulder surgery, which he confirmed to the Register in a text message on Sunday.
“It has been an issue for a majority of the season,” DeVries told the Register. “I’m just thankful I was able to complete the season even though I was very limited on certain things.
“I wasn’t able to practice much and had to be cautious of what I was doing in games, but I wanted to do what I could to help the team any way possible instead of sitting out.”
It is expected, but not confirmed, that he will follow his father to West Virginia.
Tucker DeVries made an immediate impact, starting as a true freshman at Drake.
In his junior season, DeVries averaged 21.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. His 53 steals were a career-high.
DeVries started all but one game – a non-conference matchup against Alcorn State – helping Drake to a 28-7 overall record, a 16-4 record against conference opponents, and the Bulldogs' second straight Missouri Valley Conference tournament championship.
He led Drake to back-to-back berths in the NCAA Tournament, as well.
DeVries ends his time in the MVC as a two-time Larry Bird Trophy award winner, given to the league’s player of the year. He is only the ninth player in conference history to earn the honor two years in a row.
More Bulldog players are expected to hit the transfer portal after West Virginia announced it had hired Darian DeVries as its new head basketball coach on Sunday night.
DeVries compiled a 150-55 overall record in six seasons at Drake, including back-to-back Missouri Valley Conference championships and automatic berths to the NCAA Tournament in 2023 and 2024.
Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Drake basketball's Tucker DeVries enters transfer portal
