It was a surprise when Deivon Smith took the court Saturday night to warmup for the St. John’s basketball team against Seton Hall and it was even more shocking when he checked into the game despite the Johnnies leading by 13 points early in the first half.
Nearly 24 hours before tipoff Rick Pitino all but ruled his starting guard out as he continued to recover from a shoulder bruise suffered late in the first half of the Red Storm’s victory over Villanova.
Yet, Smith wanted to play and was allowed.
He was clearly favoring his right shoulder, and it affected his shooting, missing all six shots he took from the floor. He had tape and a bandage on the injured area while using heat to keep his arm loose while he was on the bench.
Pitino isn’t going to be as lenient with Smith’s availability on Wednesday night (7:00 p.m. ET, FS1) against Xavier (12-7, 4-4 Big East).
“This time around, I’ll make the decision,” he said on Monday at Madison Square Garden if Smith will play.
“He’s really not healed yet, but we’re going to take it slow.”
Pitino said that Smith didn’t come out of the game against Seton Hall very well and didn’t look good during the team’s practice on Monday morning. Smith did lightly participate during the team’s shootaround on Monday evening in The Garden.
It’s similar to the injury he suffered in the summer, which required him to receive a cortisone shot and miss a few days of practice.
“He’s not ready to come back yet,” Pitino added.
Smith even admitted that he isn’t feeling very close to full strength.
“I’m in some pain right now. Pretty banged up, but I just want to get to 100-percent,” he said on Monday.
“It was good from a mental standpoint just to get out there and see how it felt playing throughout the injury and getting shots up,” Smith explained about how he felt during the Seton Hall game.
“I got out there and I got to actually see what I’m capable of doing and it was not the same game before I left off, clearly.”
Despite his struggles from the field, shooting wasn’t the most painful part for Deivon Smith, it was the physicality that came during the game.
“Everybody knows my arm is messed up, so a lot of people are just going at it, fouling me, pulling my arm and stuff like that.”
Smith had seven points on 2-of-9 shooting when St. John’s played Xavier two weeks ago in 26 minutes. Simeon Wilcher, who has started in his place since the injury, had 15 points off the bench against the Musketeers.
Now, No. 20 St. John's (16-3, 7-1 Big East) could be looking at its third game this season without Deivon Smith.