‘He’s been special for us’: Former Central Valley standout Dylan Darling taking advantage of fresh start at Idaho State

On a day when the home team gave its fans few chances to cheer, the section behind the Idaho State bench Saturday at Reese Court in Cheney did a whole lot of clapping – much of it because of Dylan Darling.

The redshirt sophomore made 9 of 17 shots, recorded four steals and added six assists in a 24-point performance against the Eastern Washington men’s basketball team, the latest excellent game for one of the Big Sky Conference’s leading scorers this season.

“It’s been an interesting journey so far, and we’re just happy to be part of it,” said James Darling, Dylan’s father, following Idaho State’s 78-54 victory. “His rooting section is getting bigger and bigger and bigger.”

After graduating in 2022 from Central Valley High School, where Dylan Darling was named MVP of the Greater Spokane League, Darling’s three-year college career has been a bit of a boomerang. But regardless of how he ended up in Pocatello, in his first year with the Bengals, Darling is thriving.

“He’s been special for us because of his competitive spirit,” Idaho State coach Ryan Looney said before Saturday’s game. “Obviously you can look at the stats, and he’s been super productive on the offensive end. But I think what I’ve enjoyed most about him is his competitive spirit defensively.”

Idaho State is 10-7 in Big Sky play and 15-13 overall. A victory Monday night at Northern Arizona would match the Bengals’ 11-7 conference record in 2015-16, the last season they had at least that many league victories. Regardless, the Bengals will enter this weekend’s Big Sky tournament as a No. 3 or No. 4 seed.

It’s been the program’s best season in the five so far under Looney, who, like Darling, is a Central Valley graduate (albeit with a couple decades between them). And Darling’s choice to head to Pocatello for this season is a big reason for that success.

Heading into his senior year at CV, Darling committed to Idaho State. Looney was the first coach to call him during that recruiting process, and they ran in many of the same circles, knew many of the same families.

But then Darling had a monster senior season, averaging 33.2 points, 8.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 4.4 steals per game. He was named Washington’s 4A Player of the Year.

All that got the attention of Washington State – where James Darling starred as a football player and where his son had long wanted to attend college.

“My mom and dad both went to Washington State, my sister goes there now, my cousins all went there, so Washington State was my dream school,” Dylan Darling said.

So, when the Cougars coaches swooped in a couple weeks before the signing period opened, Darling changed his commitment from Idaho State to Washington State.

“He erupted, and Washington State came in and took him from us, which we were upset about in the moment,” Looney said. “But we maintained a good relationship. You never know what’s going to happen down the line.”

Sure enough, Darling’s two years weren’t quite as he’d hoped. As a true freshman in 2022-23, Darling played in 25 games, but he didn’t score much – just 42 total points. Then, he suffered a back injury in practice and missed the whole of the 2023-24 season.

When head coach Kyle Smith left, Darling opted to transfer.

Looney, Darling said, was the first coach to call.

“He decided that he wanted something different last spring,” Looney said, “and we welcomed him back with open arms.”

At that point Looney was reshaping a roster ravaged by the transfer portal. Following a 14-20 season (7-11 in the Big Sky), 13 Bengals players who had eligibility remaining left the program.

So, Looney got to work filling those spots.

“I traveled all over the country,” Looney said. “I went and saw a lot of these guys face-to-face, spent time with them, brought them all back on campus visits, tried to develop the best relationship we possibly could with all of them, really to get a great picture in regards to what their character was like. For me, that was the most important. I just wanted a bunch of good guys who loved being around each other every day and were open to being coached.”

The pitch was an easy one for Darling to hear.

“I really felt like I needed a fresh start and an opportunity to be able to show what I could do,” Darling said, “and I trusted coach Looney.”

Last week’s games were something of a reunion tour for Darling, who also had a sizable rooting crowd Thursday in Idaho State’s 69-65 victory at Idaho in Moscow. Darling had 19 points in that game, right at his season average.

“I had the whole mob down there,” Darling said. “I had my Pullman people come, my parents, all my family friends, best friends. It was super cool.”

Then came Saturday’s performance, which asserted Darling’s case for being named a first-team all-league player. He ranks third in the Big Sky in scoring (19.4 points per game), ninth in field goal percentage (43.6) and second in assists (5.8 per game). He also has 47 steals, fourth-most in the Big Sky.

After Saturday’s game at Reese Court, Darling greeted various family and friends who were in attendance. They may not get to see him as often as they did when he was at Washington State, but the fact that he’s playing and excelling is enough, James Darling said.

“Every parent wants their kid to go on whatever journey they want to go on,” James Darling said. “We were all so happy for him that we could have him so close to home (at WSU), but then he wasn’t playing that much and it was tough. Just to have (his path) do a 180 and have him back at Idaho State, he’s playing now, and it’s been a blessing.”