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Draymond Green Hates Dylan Darling Hype at St. John’s
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- Draymond Green Hates Dylan Darling Hype at St. John’s
(© Jerome Miron-Imagn Images)
The lights of the cameras' flashes at Viejas Arena captured absolute cinema in San Diego on Sunday. St. John's Red Storm secured a sensational 67-65 victory over the Kansas Jayhawks, marking the Red Storm program's historic return to the Sweet 16 since 1999. Fans were gushing over winning clips on social media, but four-time NBA champion Draymond Green delivered a blunt assessment of the madness, laying out the truth.
During an episode of The Draymond Green Show, Green, a veteran Golden State Warriors forward, criticized the "hero" narrative in which St. John's and its fans portrayed guard Dylan Darling's buzzer-beating layup shot as epic. Darling was a nomadic postseason contributor who struggled all night, scoring two points on 1-for-5 shooting. Green said the hype surrounding Darling was a fallacy because the guard was largely ineffective throughout the entire game before the final second.
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"One thing I hate is this guy [Darling] hadn't hit a shot all night," Green said. "He hit one shot, and everybody's like, 'Oh man, he's the hero.'"
Instead, Green directly called Bryce Hopkins the epitome of elite leadership. Hopkins, a forward, carried the momentum into the win column by stuffing the stat sheet with 18 points and seven rebounds. He made a career-high six three-pointers from three-point range, providing the firepower that kept the Red Storm in action after Kansas erased a 14-point second-half deficit.
"Bryce Hopkins was the hero," he said. "Bryce Hopkins made every play down the stretch, every shot down the stretch that he needed to make. So, shout out to him."
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Green also did not spare head coach Bill Self's strategic coaching, specifically the decision to commit multiple take-fouls. This move put St. John's into the penalty, which Green called a ridiculous plan that backfired.
"I think it was ridiculous to foul that much to go into the penalty and then have to play defense on this last possession in the penalty and can't use your hands, can't do anything," Green said. "I think that was crazy. Ultimately, it cost him the game."
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The Jayhawks fouled into the bonus as time ran out, preventing the defense from using ball pressure without risking free throws. Green explained that this lack of intensity on the ball ultimately cost Kansas the victory.
After his game-winning layup, Darling provided clarity on the hero narrative :
"I probably don't deserve this, I was pretty bad all night long - but my teammates held it down tonight."
Despite the internal criticism, St. John's coach Rick Pitino reached a milestone with the win, becoming only the fifth coach in history to record 10 different 30-win seasons.
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The Red Storm and its roster will now travel to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1999. They will face Duke next in Washington, D.C. (Capital One Arena) on March 27 (Friday).
Related: Rick Pitino Interrupts St. John's Hero's Buzzer-Beater Answer
This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Mar 24, 2026, where it first appeared in the NBA section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
