West Virginia job one that should have great interest

West Virginia is back in the market for a new head men’s basketball coach.

The man formerly holding the post, Darian DeVries, left the program for Indiana after one 19-13 season in Morgantown sending the Mountaineers into a process that has become familiar over the past 20-months.

But there are certainly some positives with what DeVries was able to accomplish during his short time in Morgantown when it comes to the next list of candidates looking to fill the post.

“People see that you can come in, get the resources to build a roster to be competitive instantly,” Athletic Director Wren Baker said. “I anticipate having great interest.”

West Virginia expects to be highly competitive in the realms of salary offered to candidates, budget and all other resources for the next head coach to build the program even further.

Baker already started the search process Tuesday but now will dive into it tirelessly in order to bring the best person to Morgantown to fill the role.

It helps matters that West Virginia had just gone through the search process less than a calendar year ago so they’ve been able to do a lot of legwork on potential candidates and dig deep into the resumes of possible options for the position this time around.

“And so, while some of those candidates are off the board, and there's probably a few new ones on the board, a lot of them we've already done deep, deep dives on,” he said.

Baker firmly believes that the position is one that is attractive to a long list of candidates because of the state and it’s people on top of being able to play in one of the nation’s best leagues in the Big 12.

The Mountaineers will be resourced competitively within not only the Big 12, but the national landscape and will rely on the tradition and fan support as well as key factors to sell. In fact, according to KenPom, the Mountaineers have one of the best home advantages in the country only driving home that point.

Baker does anticipate taking the same approach of completing the process quick but not hurrying. The desired goal is to get the best candidate, but there is certainly pressure to be as efficient and quick as possible given the fluid nature of rosters and the transfer portal.

“I think as an athletic director, you have to resist that driving the search because long-term, you can make a mistake trying to solve some short-term concerns,” Baker said.

However, he does believe that this is a search that West Virginia can execute pretty quickly without attaching any sort of timeline to it.

Baker has a lot to sell when it comes to the post and the goal is to find the best man to do it.

“So, the next coach here is going to be extremely fortunate and lucky to be our coach, and hopefully they're going to come in and really work to build a program, put down roots,” he said.

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West Virginia job one that should have great interest

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