In the span of four days St. John’s basketball guard Deivon Smith went from potentially being ruled out for the remainder of the regular season to playing 26 minutes off the bench in a win over No. 24 Creighton.
“Without him tonight, we don't win this game,” Rick Pitino said after the 79-73 victory.
Smith, specifically in the first half, looked as healthy as ever. He was quick, aggressive, and decisive — exactly what he showcased prior to his shoulder sprain suffered against Villanova on January 11. He contributed eight points on 4-of-7 shooting in the opening stanza.
His most recent injury was a pinched nerve in his neck suffered last week in practice that forced him to miss the Red Storm’s rematch with the Wildcats on Wednesday — a 73-71 loss that snapped a 10-game winning streak.
“It was one of the biggest shocks of the year for me,” Pitino explained of Smith’s availability against the Bluejays.
After Pitino told him that he would be shutting him down until he felt 100-percent physically and mentally, Smith came to Pitino on Saturday asking if he could try a player development session.
All went well and he progressed to practice on Saturday afternoon, which was one of his best this season according to Pitino.
“I thought we were looking at the earlier after Connecticut,” Pitino said of when he expected Deivon Smith to return.
“It's going to take a little time, but we need him back. He helps us in so many ways. The pace picks up when he's in the game.”
Seeing Deivon Smith on the court did not surprise Creighton head coach Greg McDermott.
“Do you believe anything [Rick Pitino] says?” McDermott joked. “I may have before, but not anymore.”
“They have a lot of good defenders, I think he’s their best on-ball defender,” he continued.
A large portion of Smith’s defensive assignment was following around standout guard Steven Ashworth, who was 4-for-12 and 2-of-9 from 3-point range in the second half.
“He felt very confident that he could really contribute, and without him, we don't win this game,” Pitino added.
St. John’s (22-4, 13-2 Big East) will hope Deivon Smith can remain healthy for the rest of the season as the team holds a two-game lead for the Big East regular season championship with five contests remaining.
The Red Storm will travel to DePaul (11-15, 2-13 Big East) on Wednesday night (9:00 p.m. ET, FS1).