The St. John’s basketball team will nearly be whole again on Saturday afternoon when taking on Providence (11-10, 5-5 Big East) inside Madison Square Garden as Rick Pitino announced on Friday afternoon that Deivon Smith will play for the No. 15 Johnnies.
Smith had been battling a shoulder sprain for the last three weeks, forcing him to miss four games and attempting to play injured against Seton Hall two weeks ago.
“He’s a little rusty, but he’s in good shape,” Pitino said. “I think we gambled. We went longer than we should have to get him 100-percent.”
“We gambled that we could win without him, it was a big gamble, and it paid off.”
St. John’s (18-3, 9-1 Big East) has won seven straight games, five of which came when Smith was not fully healthy. He has fully participated in practice over the last several days and will have no restrictions, although he will come off the bench against the Friars.
“He’s a gamer, he’ll play well,” Pitino added.
The biggest hurdle to climb for Deivon Smith and St. John’s was to have him mentally trusting his shoulder would hold up against contact, which was the reason that he was held out on Tuesday against Georgetown.
That’s no longer an issue.
“I feel good,” Smith said. “I had a good practice [Thursday], looking to build on it today.”
“Just play hard, motor, let the game come to me. The same stuff that you guys have already been seeing, just hope my shot goes in.”
Deivon Smith, in the only game he played while being injured, was 0-for-6 from the field against Seton Hall. He is averaging 10.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.8 steals per game while shooting 42.8-percent from the floor and 39.2-percent from 3-point range.
When he plays, the pace and quickness of the Red Storm picks up and there are very few teams that can match its speed. Smith had 17 points, four rebounds, four assists, and two steals when the two teams met in late December.
Tipoff between St. John’s and Providence is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. ET (CBS Sports Network).