Deivon Smith has been battling through a shoulder injury for the last eight weeks but he’s not planning to miss any more games with the St. John’s basketball team set to make its postseason run.
Smith returned to the floor on Thursday for St. John’s in the Big East Tournament after missing its regular season finale against Marquette, which gave him 11 days off between games.
“It’s probably going to be a problem all season long,” Smith said after the Red Storm 78-57 victory over Butler.
His return was short lived against the Bulldogs after picking up two fouls in 13 seconds that saw him spend the rest of the half on the bench.
“I think he's mentally very self-conscious,” Rick Pitino said. “And it's bothering him more mentally than it will bother him physically.”
“I'm sure it's bothering him. He's a tough kid, but you've got to get over the hump mentally, and that's what he is really struggling with. Pays too much attention to it. He's got to block it out of his mind, and it's easier said than done to do that.”
Smith was able to play 12 minutes in the second half and went 1-for-3 from the floor, including a made 3-pointer, with four rebounds and two assists. He said that his shooting form felt “normal” but he has to get himself back in the rhythm of playing.
“I don’t want to miss any more games. [This season] is super special and I want to be a part of it all.”
During his time away from the court last week the Utah transfer said he was able to get a lot of treatment on his shoulder that allowed him to return but knows other teams will be targeting him to see how much strength he has.
“On the screens, they already got me, and they put in a little extra [on the contact], but I mean I’ll hit first now,” he explained.
However, his return wasn’t always expected. Smith said that he originally was going to wait and sit out until the NCAA Tournament but the progress he made with the training staff during the bye week allowed him to get on the court.
Pitino even told the rest of the team last week that Deivon Smith wasn’t going to play for the rest of the season, but it was used to motivate Smith to get back on the court.
“He’ll say some stuff to challenge you and push you and get what you need to get done,” he continued. “That did push me because I didn’t like hearing that out loud.”
Smith says he will have no problem recovering to play in a back-to-back game when St. John’s takes on Marquette on Friday night (6:30 p.m. ET, FOX) in the Big East Tournament Semifinals.