DeVries Wins the Larry Bird Trophy Once Again.
ST. LOUIS—After an announcement at the Missouri Valley Conference men’s basketball awards banquet on Wednesday, March 6, Tucker DeVries, a junior swingman for Drake men’s basketball, became the ninth player in history to win the Larry Bird trophy in back-to-back seasons. He also joined a group of eleven players who have won the trophy twice.
DeVries is the only athlete since Doug McDermott at Creighton (2012) and 20213 to win Larry Bird MVC Player of the Year two seasons in a row. The last individual to win the Larry Bird trophy twice was AJ Green of UNI (2020 and 2022). There has never been a three-time winner of the Larry Bird MVC Player of the Year award.
DeVries and Lewis Lloyd are the Drake players who have won MVC Player of the Year twice in a row. The following Drake Bulldogs have also taken home the Larry Bird Trophy: Adam Emmenecker (2008), Jeff Halliburton (1971), Lloyd (1980 and 1981), and Curt Smith (1993). In 1969, the league started recognizing a Player of the Year.
Additionally, DeVries became one of just five players to win the Larry Bird Trophy of the MVC in addition to being named the league’s Freshman of the Year. AJ Green of UNI, Doug McDermott, Cameron Krutwig of Loyola, Ashraf Amaya of Southern Illinois, and Seth Tuttle of UNI are among the others who have previously achieved the feat. DeVries was only the fourth sophomore to do so in 2023.
DeVries was the MVC Preseason Player of the Year going into this season, and he was aiming for a repeat victory. Over the course of 30 games during the 2023–24 regular season, he averaged 21.9 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.7 steals—all notable improvements from the previous season. In NCAA Division I, he is the only player to average 20.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 100 assists, 50 steals, and 50 or more three-pointers made.
Coaches, sports information directors, and a panel of media members conducted the voting; student-athletes were not permitted to vote for themselves. Up until this year, the honor has been won by 0 freshmen, 4 sophomores, 19 juniors (eight of whom repeated), and 33 seniors (covering 1969–2024).
Coaches, sports information directors, and a panel of media members conducted the voting; student-athletes were not permitted to vote for themselves. Up until this year, the honor has been won by 0 freshmen, 4 sophomores, 19 juniors (eight of whom repeated), and 33 seniors (covering 1969–2024).
Darnell Brodie, a graduate student forward, made the All-MVC First Team after demonstrating consistent improvement. Brodie made 64.9 percent of his shots and finished the game with career-highs of 11.5 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 2.1 assists. Brodie was on the 2022–23 Most Improved Team and the 2020–21 All-Newcomer Team.
Kevin Overton, a rookie guard, earned a spot on the MVC All-Freshman team after finishing second in the Freshman of the Year voting. Overton shot.456 percent from the field and averaged 12.0 points and 3.4 rebounds.
The champion of No. 7 Illinois State and No. 10 Evansville will play the Bulldogs in the quarterfinal round of the State Farm MVC Tournament on Friday, March 8 at 6 p.m. at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis.
