March Madness: St. John's Dylan Darling and some of the people who know him best

Kim Leavell was seated in the family section with about 10 family and friends for most of St. John’s second-round game with Kansas. But with 3.7 seconds left, she stood in the aisle nervously waiting for St. John’s to inbound the ball tied at 63.

Her son, Dylan Darling, took the pass and drove to the basket. Leavell started to panic but when Darling’s game-winning layup went in as the buzzer sounded, her emotions took over as her son raised his hands to the crowd at Viejas Arena in San Diego.

“I just, like, collapsed on the floor crying,” Leavell recalled. “I just kind of bent down and started bawling my head off.”

Soon, other mothers for St. John’s players jumped on top of her to celebrate. It mirrored how Darling’s teammates mobbed him and took him to the floor.

For St. John’s, it pushed them into the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1999. It made Darling a, well, March Madness darling after the junior guard announced NIL deals with Wendy’s and IntuitTurboTax this week.

Not bad for someone whose career was at a crossroads two years ago after a season-ending back injury at Washington State. But Leavell said her son always wanted to prove people wrong when he was doubted or at a low point.

During one summer in high school, she recalled a coach tell Darling he’s not a shooter. That motivated Darling and as a senior at Central Valley High School in Spokane, Washington, he averaged 33.2 points to break a league scoring average record set by future NBA player and Gonzaga All-American Adam Morrison.

“You can’t tell Dylan 'no' about anything, trust me,” Leavell said. “It’s always been like that. He’s always been a very determined kid and so I love that’s really paying off.”

That fearlessness showed up Sunday. Before that final possession, Darling was 0-for-4 shooting against Kansas. Yet he didn’t hesitate calling his number and attacking the basket.

Idaho State coach Ryan Looney, who coached Darling in '24-25, wasn't surprised. He said Darling made about “50 of those shots” in key moments last season while becoming Big Sky Player of the Year.

Looney also went to Central Valley High School so he was well versed with Darling’s scoring ability having known his family for years.

“I’ve known for a long time that Dylan's a competitor, a tough kid,” said Looney, who estimated he got about 50 texts from friends or Idaho State fans after the play. “He's not going to back down from any challenge. So everything he's doing right now is definitely not a shock to us here.”

Idaho State was one of Darling’s few offers but after his senior year scoring binge, he was named 4A Washington Player of the Year. It got the attention of then-Washington State coach Kyle Smith.

He didn’t scout Darling live but he watched his film and was impressed at how this fast guard was scoring with ease.

“He’s just so really quick and got to the rim. So aggressive. Good passer,” said Smith, now the head coach at Stanford. “What you see is what you get. He’s very similar and it’s just the highest level, now.”

There was also Darling’s toughness. He didn’t back down from contact and Smith learned why. Darling’s father James played 10 years in the NFL, including two seasons with the Jets in 2001-02.

James Darling also was an All Pac-10 linebacker at Washington State so Smith said it was a “no-brainer” to offer Dylan. But that’s when the story stalled.

Darling averaged just 1.7 points as a freshman. His back injury happened two games into his sophomore year. After that season, Smith was hired by Stanford.

Darling then transferred to Idaho State. Looney gave Darling the freedom to just be himself like he was in high school. It worked with Looney averaging 19.8 points, 5.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game in 2024-25.

“I think that freedom allowed him really quickly to get all of his confidence back, which has now allowed him to get to where he's at right now in his career,” Looney said.

It also attracted more suitors last offseason. When St. John’s came calling, Darling didn’t hesitate because of one factor: Being coached by Rick Pitino.

Leavell said she didn’t think another school had a shot once Pitino and his staff showed interest. Darling admired Pitino’s coaching style and playing in the Big East didn’t intimidate him because he knew the benefits outweighed the challenges.

“He was like, I'd rather sit the bench with him as my coach then be a star somewhere else, because I know there's nowhere else I could get any better than being coached by Pitino,” Leavell said. “For him to go in with that mindset and then being able to do what these boys are doing all together, that's a skill he'll take for his whole life.”

It helped Darling’s toughness matched how Pitino loves his teams. After coming off the bench most of the year, Darling’s started every game of this current St. John’s eight-game win streak.

With St. John’s facing No. 1 seed Duke Friday in Washington D.C., Looney and Smith will have their eyes on their former point guard. Smith called Darling a fighter who has a linebacker mentality in a basketball player. Looney kept it brief.

“He's about as tough a competitor as there is in college basketball,” Looney said.

Leavell joked she’ll be screaming like an obnoxious banshee during Friday’s game. But she was also happy Darling atoned for his poor shooting Sunday with one shot St. John’s fans won’t forget.

It was a one shining moment years in the making from Spokane to Pullman, Washington to Idaho State and, now, New York.

“I knew it was going to be pretty devastating for him (if they lost) to end on that note of not having the best game,” Leavell said. “So as a mama, you’re just thankful they’re able to do the things that they really want to do and feel good about.”

By Evan Barnes

evan.barnes@newsday.comevan_b

Evan Barnes covers the Giants for Newsday. He previously covered the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.