The sellout crowd at Madison Square Garden erupted as St. John’s point guard Deivon Smith subbed into Sunday’s game against Creighton for the first time.
Four days earlier, head coach Rick Pitino had suggested Smith could miss the remainder of the regular season due to a nagging neck/shoulder injury.
But in a pregame surprise, Smith was made active, then contributed 26 minutes in the Red Storm’s 79-73 win.
“I told [Pitino] I would get through it,” Smith recalled Tuesday. “I would get through the mental part, and I’m OK with whatever comes with it, whether I have a bad game or a good game, because I’m sure I could do two or three good things that could change the pace of the game or change the momentum.”
Smith, a 6-foot senior who transferred from Utah in the offseason, missed three games last month. He sat out again in last week’s 73-71 loss at Villanova after experiencing tightness in his neck/shoulder during a preceding practice.
It was after that loss that Pitino told reporters Smith would miss more time in an effort to get fully healthy before the Big East Tournament and NCAA Tournament.
But Smith says he texted Pitino later in the week, asking to go through an individual workout and a practice to see how he felt. Smith went 6-of-7 on 3-point attempts during Saturday’s practice, which Pitino described as the guard’s “best practice of the season.”
“I don’t think there’s too much pain in there,” Smith said. “Probably a little bit of nagging, but I’m fighting through it. It’s nothing I can’t play through. At this point, I don’t want to miss any more games or time, so I’m just gonna stay in the treatment room heavy, keep doing what I have to do.”
Smith scored eight points on 4-of-9 shooting in Sunday’s win. His athleticism proved pivotal during a game in which St. John’s pressed for nearly all 40 minutes.
“They have a lot of good defenders,” said Creighton head coach Greg McDermott. “I think he’s their best on-ball defender. He’s hard to screen. His closing speed is so good.”
Having Smith available was “one of the biggest shocks of the year,” said Pitino, who expected the senior to be out at least through this Sunday’s home game against UConn.
Smith said it motivated him when he heard Pitino suggest his regular season could be over.
“I met with him,” Pitino said. “I said, ‘Look, I’ve got to get you 100 percent where you’re rebounding, you’re pushing, and not thinking about your injury.’ I think a lot of it was mental. I’ve seen it so many times with players. They’re just worried about re-injuring it.”
Smith is averaging 9.4 points, five rebounds, four assists and 1.7 steals per game over 21 appearances, including 13 starts.
He is an excellent athlete who thrives playing in transition.
Smith is a big reason why St. John’s is 22-4 this season, ranks No. 10 in the AP Poll and leads the Big East by two games with a 13-2 record in conference play.
The Red Storm have five games remaining, beginning Wednesday on the road against a DePaul team that’s last in the Big East with a 2-13 record in conference play.
St. John’s rolled past DePaul, 89-61, during the teams’ first meeting on Dec. 17 in Queens. Still, Smith says the Johnnies are not “overlooking” DePaul ahead of their meeting with UConn at the Garden four days later.
“We’re not looking forward to Sunday,” Smith said. “We’re knocking out Wednesday’s game, putting our best foot forward, and just continuing on building momentum.”
