Darling Of NCCA Tournament Delivers Echoes Of Eagles' 1997 Draft

The father of St. John's basketball player is the son of one of four players drafted by the Eagles in 1997, who paid dividends for then-GM Ray Rhodes.

October 6, 2002; Jacksonville, Fla; #22 Runningback Duce Staley of the Philadelphia Eagles runs against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Alltel Stadium.CREDIT: Paul Chapman/ Imagn Images | Paul Chapman

He became one of the darlings of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament on Sunday night when he drove through the Kansas defense and kissed the basketball off the glass just before the buzzer sounded, the ball sliding through the net as the rim of the backboard glowed red, signaling the end of the game.

Final: St. John’s 67, Kansas 65. The shot maker, Dylan Darling, was engulfed by his teammates inside South Philly's Xfinity Mobile Arena. The Eagles had a Darling once. It was Dylan’s dad, James Darling.

You have to go back to last century to recall that James Darling was a second-round draft pick of the Eagles out of Washington State in 1997, the 57th player taken overall that year. Apparently, the Darlings – both father and son – have a flair for the dramatic.

While Dylan made the game-winner to push St. John’s into this weekend’s Sweet 16 against Duke, James’ only interception as an Eagle came in 1999, the very first game of Andy Reid’s very first of 14 seasons as the Eagles’ head coach. In that opener, Darling picked off Arizona Cardinals quarterback Jake Plummer and returned it 33 yards to the 8-yard line.

Darling played 10 years in the league, four of which came in Philly. Still, he wasn’t the best player the Eagles took in that 1997 draft, and it's also the same draft that the Eagles took one of the biggest busts in their history, selecting Jon Harris at No. 25 overall.

With this year’s draft at T-minus 30 days and counting, what better reason to look back at the 1997 draft after Dylan Darling’s heroics?

Ray Rhodes Drafted James Darling And Others In 1997

Sep 24, 1995; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles head coach Ray Rhodes on the sideline against the Oakland Raiders at Oakland-Alameda County Stadium. FILE PHOTO; Mandatory Credit: Imagn Images | RVR Photos-Imagn Images

His dad, James, may have been the second-best player the Eagles took 29 years ago, depending on what your criteria are for judging such things. Suffice it to say that he wasn’t the best – the plum of that draft is obvious – but Darling was one of four players the Eagles took that year.

With head coach Ray Rhodes also serving as the general manager, his third pick behind Harris and Darling was Duce Staley. Not only was that the best pick of that year for Rhodes, but Staley became one of the best picks the Eagles made.

Staley is still fifth in all-time rushing for the Eagles with 4,807 yards, behind Wilbert Montgomery’s 6,538, Brian Westbrook’s 5,995, Steve Van Buren’s 5,860, and LeSean McCoy’s 6,792. Also in 1997, Rhodes took defensive end N.D. Kalu in the fifth round, the 152nd pick overall, and quarterback Koy Detmer in the seventh, the 207th player taken overall.

Kalu, who came from Rice, played five years for the Eagles, though spread out over two different stints. He played one year in Philly, then the next three years with the then-Redskins, before returning to the Eagles for four more seasons. He made 25 starts and had 18.5 sacks over those two stints in Philly. He spent three years with the then-Houston Oilers to close his career, ending with 31 career sacks.

Detmer was extremely popular in his nine seasons with the Eagles, though he made just eight starts in that time. His celebration after throwing touchdown passes was legendary, with him often breaking out an invisible “whuppin’ stick” and doing a “spanking” dance, with him spanking an invisible person or sometimes teammates' rear end.