“More of a Financial Decision”: Rick Pitino Makes Brutally Honest Admission for March Madness Hero’s Departure from St. John’s

St. John’s Red Storm coach Rick Pitino understands why his senior, Dylan Darling, has suddenly departed from his team, even after his all-time March Madness moment last season. Back in mid-April, Darling announced through his Instagram account that he is leaving the Red Storm and is transferring to the Grand Canyon Lopes for the 2026-27 season.

Darling entered the transfer portal just a few days before his commitment. Since then, Pitino has finally spoken on Darling’s departure, and did so in a brutally honest way.

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Pitino asserted that Darling’s departure was purely based on his financial situation, despite onlookers suggesting that it has something to do with Darling losing his spot in the team’s rotation. Still, the tenured tactician affirmed that he and his program are happy for Darling with the move he made for his future.

“That was more of a financial situation. We’re really happy for Dylan,” Pitino was quoted as saying.

– Rick Pitino, May 25, 2026

With Darling finding a new team, Pitino and his staff will now look to retool to find another pesky veteran guard just like him, as his role proved to win games for the Red Storm. His all-time March Madness moment came in the second round of the 2026 national tournament. Knotted up at 65, Darling scored his first points of the game through a contested layup to win the game for St. John’s over the Kansas Jayhawks, 67-65.

Rick Pitino previously shared the moments that led to Dylan Darling’s all-time March Madness moment

Despite his departure, Dylan Darling has made his imprint on the St. John’s Red Storm history books with his game-winning layup. What made it even more impressive is that he did not score in the tightly-contested game up to that point. During the post-game press conference, coach Rick Pitino shared that it was actually Darling who suggested that he take the game-winning shot.

“ So we’re gonna run a play, but they got fouls to give, and Bells comes up to me and says, ‘Run…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/more-financial-decision-rick-pitino-071917549.html

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Publish date : 2026-05-26 07:19:00

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