University of Toledo men’s basketball coach Tod Kowalczyk recognizes the value in having a bench player like Chris Darrington who may not start but lifts the team with his scoring ability and infectious energy when he is in the game.
“Energy off of the bench is one of the most underrated things in college basketball,” Kowalczyk said. “It’s so important to have guys off the bench that bring energy. In Chris’ case, he not only brings energy but he brings scoring punch. He’s a guy who can score in a variety of ways and can score quickly.”
Darrington, who was an All-Ohio performer his senior season at Scott High School, played two seasons at Vincennes University in Indiana, where he was a junior college All-American as a sophomore.
He then transferred to Tennessee for one season with the Vols before returning to Toledo and gaining immediate eligibility to play for the Rockets this season.
So far, the results have been good. Darrington is Toledo’s third-leading scorer behind Jaelan Sanford and Nate Navigato, averaging 10.8 points in 16.4 minutes per game.
For the most part, the Rockets use a nine-man rotation with Darrington, Spencer Littleson, AJ Edu, and Dylan Alderson coming off the bench. Of the bench players, Darrington gets the most minutes.
“I look to be aggressive when I come in there,” Darrington said. “Being the leader of the bench crew that comes in, I try to bring energy and try to give the starters a break. I’m looking to come in and be aggressive and get points on the board when the starters are resting. They can depend on me to get quick points and instant offense.”
Many players prefer not come off the bench, but Darrington has embraced his role and has been able to adapt his game in order to make the most of his time.
“That’s what they’ve asked [me] to do for this team — to come off the bench and play hard,” Darrington said. “It’s something that I had to get used to, but I’m embracing it. We’re winning and we have a good record and I’m playing well, so I’m going to continue to just come in and aggressive.”
Darrington has scored in double figures in 10 of the team’s 16 games and had a season-high 21 points in 23 minutes in the Rockets’ loss at No. 16 Buffalo last week.
He shoots 42.9 percent from the 3-point line and 81.4 percent from the free-throw line and along with Buffalo’s C.J. Massinburg is the only player in the Mid-American Conference to rank in the top 10 in the conference in both categories.
“He’s a guy that comes in and he impacts the game,” Kowalczyk said. “He plays downhill and is one of the best in the country per minutes played at getting to the foul line. He can really score and he can really shoot it. He can get to the rim on anybody and he has the unique ability to finish at the rim.”
Toledo sophomore Marreon Jackson gets an up-close look at Darrington's game as the two often are matched up against one another in practice.
“He’s very relentless,” Jackson said. “You can take away one move and he’ll come with another one. He gets his shots off very fast and he jumps high on his shot. It’s hard to contest. Me and him go at it. There’s a lot of trash talking, but it helps my defense and my offense because he is very quick.”
Darrington said this is the role he envisioned when he decided to come to Toledo.
“This is kind of what I expected, just to come in and score points,” Darrington said. “I’m trying to win games and with me coming off of the bench and with the starters out, I know they need a spark. I know I can bring that spark. On defense, I try to get steals and try to ignite the crowd and create some fast breaks.”
Kowalczyk and the Rockets players are glad Darrington chose to come home for his final season of college eligibility.
“The guys love him and I think he does fit in with the guys,” Kowalczyk said. “I think he’s learned a lot about himself and I like to think it was a great decision for him to come home.”
First Published January 14, 2019, 7:30 p.m.
