PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Dylan Darling’s exceptional play may lead to more time for Ian Jackson at his natural position.
The talented Jackson’s minutes have dwindled in recent games, partly due to Darling’s emergence.
Jackson has logged only 26 minutes in the past two games.
“Last game I was just fighting to win the game, and it was almost a little unfair to even Ian,” coach Rick Pitino said as the No. 17 Johnnies prepared to face Providence on Saturday. “I needed to get Ian some more time, which I’m going to do at the two-guard spot. Get him some more minutes. It’s unfair to him to just play behind Dylan Darling.
“I got to get Ian some time at the two. He’s such a good shooter. I couldn’t do it in the last game for a variety of reasons. I needed defense, I needed rebounding. I want to get Ian more time at the two.”
The 6-foot-5 Jackson replaced Darling in the starting lineup Dec. 13, and has remained a fixture there.
A natural shooting guard, he has been asked to transition to point guard this season, although Dillon Mitchell has handled the ball just as much among the starters over the past five weeks.
Jackson is one of the top marksmen for the Red Storm, who have struggled from distance of late — shooting only 26.9 percent (14-of-52) over the past three games.
Darling has become the closer at the one, and has come up big in crunch time on a few occasions.
In Monday’s win over Xavier, the 6-foot southpaw was critical to the victory, producing 16 points, five rebounds and four assists.
“That’s just what point guards are supposed to do,” Darling said. “I’ve been playing point guard for a while and [I’m] just trying to be the calm in the chaos at the end of games and trying to settle everybody down and get us into our stuff.”
The Red Storm will clinch a first-round bye in the Big East Tournament with their next victory. The top five finishers advance to the quarterfinals without playing a game. … The Johnnies’ 10-game winning streak is the longest of any power conference school in the country.
