St. John’s was without point guard Dylan Darling for Saturday’s loss to Alabama, but head coach Rick Pitino hopes to have the junior back soon.
Darling, who is dealing with a strained calf, didn’t come close to suiting up for Saturday’s 103-96 defeat at Madison Square Garden, Pitino said.
“He was in pain, so we decided not even to warm him up,” Pitino said afterward.
Pitino said he expects Darling to be available for next Saturday’s meeting with William & Mary at Carnesecca Arena, though he acknowledged the point guard could sit for that game, too, if needed.
“We’ll rest him all week, give him five days off,” Pitino said.
Darling transferred to St. John’s in the spring after winning Big Sky Player of the Year with Idaho State last season.
In the Johnnies’ season-opening 108-74 victory over Quinnipiac last Monday, Darling recorded six points, six assists, four rebounds and three assists in 17 minutes off the bench.
St. John’s lost the backcourt battle to Alabama on Saturday, with Crimson Tide guard Labaron Philon Jr. erupting for 25 points and Aden Holloway adding 21.
But Pitino believes Darling’s absence did not make a difference.
“He’s not a great defensive stopper,” Pitino said. “He would not have helped us tonight. He would have helped a little bit at the offensive end, but not at the defensive end.”
St. John’s guards Ian Jackson, Oziyah Sellers and Joson Sanon combined for six points on 1-of-10 shooting in the first half of Saturday’s game.
Jackson and Sellers finished with 14 points apiece, while Sanon added seven.
But Pitino identified the defensive struggles of his guards as a deciding factor in Saturday’s loss, pointing to their issues defending one-on-one against Alabama’s high-scoring attack.
“They’re willing learners,” Pitino said of Jackson, Sellers and Sanon. “We told them, ‘Whatever you do, don’t back up.’ And the whole first half, they kept backing up. We told them to dig at the basketball, dig at the basketball, but their mindset was, ‘I don’t want to get beat and get embarrassed.’”
Darling is the only traditional point guard in Pitino’s rotation, as Jackson is more of a combo guard and Sanon and Sellers are wings by trade.
Pitino has thus placed an emphasis on position-less basketball, relying on ball movement once the Johnnies cross halfcourt.
