Among every player on the St. John’s basketball roster this season Dylan Darling has been the biggest revelation.
From the fit of a role player off the bench to an integral part of the Red Storm’s success, it hasn’t always been smooth sailing for the Idaho State transfer in his debut year with the Johnnies.
He went through a spell early in the year in which he lost his confidence before Rick Pitino changed the form on his jump shot and turned him into a lethal shooter from the outside but he’s reverting to his old form.
Dylan Darling started the season 1-for-15 from 3-point range before making 22-of-49 (44.8-percent) in his next 19 contests.
Yet in the last six games he’s just 3-for-28 from the outside, including 12 straight misses in the last two games and the Red Storm head coach is expressing concerns with Darling entering St. John’s matchup against Kansas in the Round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament.
“He stepped back and he did what he did prior,” Pitino said about Darling on Saturday in San Diego.
“He started aiming, taking his time and aiming the ball as if he's throwing a dart at the dart board. When you see a player start to aim and he doesn't take it right away, you know he doesn't have great confidence. And I told Dylan last night, stop aiming your shots, step into it and take it.”
Still, Dylan Darling has impacted the game – and winning – in other ways for St. John’s with his rebounding, passing, and defense but Sunday afternoon (5:15 p.m. ET, CBS) against Kansas will be a challenge like he’s never faced before.
“I think he'll come back tomorrow,” Pitino added. “He's going to have to. He's going against great size tomorrow and one of my biggest fears is him getting in foul trouble.”
If Darling gets in foul trouble, St. John’s will have to turn to some type of combination from Ian Jackson, Joson Sanon, Oziyah Sellers, and Lefteris Liotopoulos to fill the void and it’s clearly something Rick Pitino isn’t overly comfortable with.
The Red Storm have been preparing for this moment all season and it needs its point guard on the court against the Jayhawks.