Editor: The following is part of press release from hughdurhamaward.com.
(Minneapolis, MN) – Darian DeVries of Drake is the 2018-19 recipient of the Hugh Durham Award, presented presented annually to the top mid-major coach in Division I college basketball.
In his first season as a head coach, DeVries piloted the Bulldogs to a 24-12 mark and a share of the Missouri Valley Conference regular season championship. DeVries, 43, guided Drake to impressive nonconference victories over NCAA tournament participant New Mexico State and San Diego. Following a 1-3 start in MVC play, the Bulldogs rebounded to win 11 of their next 14 games before getting upset by Northern Iowa in the semifinals of the conference tournament.
The award is named after a who built winning programs at three different universities. In eight seasons as the head coach at Jacksonville University, Durham became the Dolphins’ all-time winningest Division I coach (106 wins), making him the only coach in NCAA history to be the winningest coach (pct. or wins) at three different Division I schools.
He built national programs at Florida State where he holds the record for best winning percentage with a 230-95 (.708) record in 12 years. And at Georgia where he is also the all-time winningest coach in the 99-year history of the Bulldog program, having won 297 games in 17 seasons.
Coaches of teams in the following conferences are eligible for the award: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Great West, Horizon, Independents, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit, Sun Belt, West Coast.
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As we near the closing of the portal window, we've reached 1900. Some of them never to play college basketball again, earn a college degree and some to play at a much lower level than they did last season.
I guess we'll be seeing this in a @RacersHoops uniform this year. Glad AJ is staying in the @ValleyHoops.
