Rick Pitino was planning on starting Lefteris Liotopoulos on Saturday night against William & Mary but after implementing the Tribe’s defensive press into his game plan, he knew he had to make a change.
He opted for Dylan Darling, who had missed the Red Storm’s last game due to a calf injury, instead and it paid massive dividends as the No. 13 Johnnies used a second half surge to cruise to a 93-60 victory.
“We were throwing the ball away way too much,” Pitino explained of what he saw during practice.
Playing Darling next to Oziyah Sellers in the backcourt allowed the Stanford transfer to get free and hunt his shot instead of worrying about orchestrating the offense, and it worked resulting in 13 points on three made 3-pointers.
“I loved it. I thought they did a great job,” the Hall of Famer continued about his backcourt which saw Darling finish with 13 points, five rebounds, three assists, and four steals.
And don’t be surprised if those two could continue to start for the Johnnies going forward.
“He’s 5’11” and he’s tough as nails,” Pitino said about Darling. “I love his toughness. I love his ability. He’s got great moxie. He’s afraid of nothing. He has no fear at all of who he’s playing against. He thinks he’s the best player on the court.”
It nearly the same thing that Kyle Smith, Darling’s coach at Washington State, told the St. John’s coaching staff when they were recruiting him this spring.
“You’re getting a hell of a basketball player,” Pitino recalled of the conversation. “His heart is a lot bigger than his size.”
His teammates echo the same sentiments.
“He’s a great point guard,” Oziyah Sellers said about Dylan Darling. “He has great vision, so, whenever I’m playing with him, he definitely finds ways to get me open.”
St. John’s (2-1) outscored William & Mary by 30 points when Darling was on the floor, only trailing the +32 rating that Sellers recorded.
“I just try to make winning plays, try to bring energy and make the right play to help lead our team to victory,” Darling explained of his acclimation to St. John’s and Rick Pitino.
“I really just tried to take it day by day, just use every day to my advantage to get better and I feel like I’m growing every single day more comfortable in that role.”
The questions regarding St. John’s point guard play could become ancient history if Dylan Darling continues to perform like he did on Saturday night and the Red Storm will need it entering next week's Players Era Festival.