In Darian DeVries' opening press conference, he said a number of things that might sound familiar to Indiana fans.
That's because he mentioned, on several occasions, the "process" of being a successful coach and a building a successful program, similar to what Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti said in his opening press conference back on December 1, 2023.
"It's a process. It's a process, and it's a way you go about doing things. It's a standard. It's an expectation. High standard, high expectation," Cignetti said back then. "It's accountability. It's discipline, commitment, toughness, work ethic, pride. It's wanting to be great versus wanting to be normal."
At the time, that was music to Indiana fans' ears, as Cignetti embodied everything IU was looking for in a football coach but, of course, it was success on the field that made the bigger impact.
Cignetti's "process" resulted in an 11-2 finish for the Hoosiers and a College Football Playoff berth in his first season in Bloomington. That type of success is exactly what Indiana basketball is looking for.
That's where DeVries comes in, as he gets set to take over the reigns at Indiana. He's tasked with bringing the program back to success, and he might use a Cignetti-esque approach in doing so.
"We want to be a very process-oriented program with a core fabric built around that work. The people we surround ourselves with and the players that have a desire to want to be a part of something special" DeVries said.
DeVries talked extensively about how the transition, the roster construction and most importantly, getting better each and every day is a process, with hard work always at the forefront.
"The process is the process. Your standards are your standards," DeVries added. "Make sure that when we go out that we're not making exceptions to what we believe is important."
That particular comment, and specifically bringing up standards and expectations specifically, draws even more comparisons with Cignetti, as the former Drake and West Virginia head coach sounded almost like he was quoting the current head man for the Hoosiers' football team.
DeVries expanded on this and added what it will take to live up to those lofty standards, reiterating that he thinks the process will lead his team to success. Of course, DeVries doesn't have a team yet but, again, the process will be an important piece to finding the right roster.
"We can't cheat the process. The work has to go into it," DeVries mentioned, providing insight on what type of roster he wants to build. "The type of players that we bring into our program have to match what we're about."
Success doesn't happen overnight though, and DeVries mentioned that. He made it clear that both the process and attention to detail always comes first. Then the results will simply be by-products of the hard work.
"But that's our single priority is very narrow focused on being elite at all those little things" DeVries said. "The wins and losses, they're going to work themselves out because if you can do all those things the way you need to do them and the way I believe we can do them, then the wins are going to come."
That type of mentality is the exact mindset that Cignetti has displayed throughout his short tenure in Bloomington. If recent history is any indication, DeVries has the right mindset needed in order to turn Indiana around on the hardwood.
It won't happen instantly. It won't be easy, but Indiana fans will hope that, as DeVries put it "banners will rise again."
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