Greg McDermott joined the growing club of Big East coaches that have raved about Dylan Darling.
Like Xavier’s Richard Pitino and Connecticut’s Dan Hurley, the Creighton coach spent his postgame news conference praising the play of the 17th-ranked Johnnies’ point guard.
“I told them in the handshake line, I think Darling’s changed their team in a lot of ways the last six weeks,” McDermott said after his Bluejays were trounced, 81-52, at the Garden on Saturday afternoon. “There’s a confidence about him and there’s a tenacity and toughness defensively. … In a lot of close games, he’s making huge plays at both ends of the floor.”
Darling was terrific against Creighton, tallying 17 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals in 29 minutes. He has now scored in double figures in three of the past four games.
It was a strong bounce-back effort after he was held scoreless in 13 minutes against Marquette on Wednesday.
“I’m just trying to stay aggressive. That’s really just my mindset,” the 6-foot southpaw said. “Trying to stay engaged offensively and honestly, just paying most of my focus to the defensive side of the floor and then the offense will just take care of itself.”
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Ian Jackson warmed up, but was held out due to a sprained right ankle. He was technically available. Pitino expects the sophomore guard to play Wednesday at No. 5 Connecticut.
The 29-point win was St. John’s largest margin of victory in conference play since Feb. 18, 2022 against Butler. The Red Storm won that game 90-57. The 13-game winning streak is also their longest since the 1984-85 team won 19 in a row.
Former Johnnies Chris Ledlum, Posh Alexander, David Caraher and Sean Conway were among those in attendance. … Freshman guard Kelvin Odih (right leg soreness) didn’t play. … St. John’s alum and Cardozo High School coach Ron Naclerio was honored before the game after becoming the winningest coach in New York state high school history recently.
St. John’s Dylan Darling continues to impress Big East coaches
