Dylan Darling has been a great story for the St. John’s basketball team. An undervalued player who struggled with injuries at his previous destinations before dominating in a lower-level league and was looking for a step up in competition.
It took him time to get adjusted to the speed, size, and physicality of high-major college basketball. He briefly lost confidence in his jump shot midway through the season but slowly started to figure things out.
It didn’t take long for him to become the unsung hero in a handful of wins for St. John’s, making clutch plays against Seton Hall and Xavier. His momentum carried into strong performances against UConn and the Red Storm’s rematch against the Musketeers, which went into overtime.
But it’s no longer a surprise when Darling plays well. He’s not flying under the radar anymore, he’s shining. He’s gone from an unsung hero to a vital piece in the success of the Johnnies.
On Saturday against Providence, he was the calming force after the fight between the two teams that saw six ejections result from the incident. Darling scored 18 points in the second half and 16 of his 23 points came following the brawl.
“We were without four of our players and Dylan does what Dylan’s been pretty much doing for a good stretch now,” Zuby Ejiofor said after the 79-69 victory.
Darling did not come off the floor for the final 16:12. When St. John’s had very little working on offense, he proved to be the difference scoring eight consecutive points during a 13-5 run that swung momentum back in favor of the Red Storm.
“Some of us needed to step up without one of our leaders, [Dillon Mitchell], and somebody needed to step up,” Darling explained. “I just tried to bring energy. We were fired up from the exchange. I just tried to bring energy.”
Dylan Darling won the team’s player of the game for his performance against the Friars, which is named the ‘Big Bells’ award after Rick Pitino’s comments about his play following St. John’s win over Xavier in Cincinnati.
“Ever since he got that T-shirt made up, he’s gone to a new level,” Pitino joked about a company selling merchandise of Darling and his new nickname.
The likelihood is that he will continue to come off the bench with the Johnnies having won 11 straight games, but Dylan Darling is no longer a secret weapon for the Storm. He’s becoming one of the centerpieces of the team and putting himself in the mix to be the Big East’s Sixth Man of the Year.