How Dylan Darling got nickname ‘Church Bells’ before his St. John’s March Madness heroics

It started as a comment made by St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino, and now it’s turned into a phenomenon. 

“Church Bells,” aka Dylan Darling, became a hero on Sunday when his buzzer-beating layup booked the Red Storm a trip to the Sweet 16 to face Duke after they dramatically defeated Kansas, 67-65 on Sunday in San Diego

But if you’re wondering how Darling became “Church Bells,” all you have to do is travel back to mid-February, when the St. John’s guard knocked down a game-winning 3 against Xavier in Cincinnati. 

After the game, Pitino made a comment that has since stuck for the Spokane, Washington native. 

“Dylan Darling, he’s got balls as big as church bells. I mean it’s unbelievable,” Pitino told reporters that night. 

Since then, the nickname has stuck as Darling kept delivering clutch performances late in games, which has led the Johnnies to incorporate it in other ways as well. 

The Red Storm gives out a red church bell to the best player of the night after the games as the
“Big Bells Award.”

Dylan Darling reacts after hitting the game-winning shot during the St. John’s game March 22. Charles Wenzelberg

“Now, each game we have a church bell that we bought for like a hundred and fifty dollars and on it, it says most valuable player that night of St. John’s basketball,” Pitino explained to Brandon Tierney on “BT Unleashed” earlier this month. 

“I go into the locker room after a victory and I ring the bell and I said the winner of ‘Big Bells Award’ last game was Ruben Prey, and everybody gets crazy. Then Ruben gets his name on the front — just in tape — with two church bells to be a replica of something else. And everybody goes crazy.”

Darling played 18 minutes in Sunday’s win and finished with only two points — of course, those were the game-winning points. 

Dylan Darling drives to the basket during the St. John’s game against Kansas on March 22. Charles Wenzelberg

Following the game, Pitino revealed that Darling had called for the ball on the game-winning play in the huddle right before it all went down, and the St. John’s coach was happy to let him have the chance — before remembering one thing. 

“So I walk away and said, ‘wait a second, he hasn’t scored a bucket and he wants to run a play for himself,’” Pitino told reporters on Sunday. “And I’m thinking as I’m walking, but he’s Bells.” 

Darling shot 1-for-5 from the field, while recording four assists, two steals and a rebound.