On Wednesday, Rick Pitino was fearful Deivon Smith may not be again till the postseason.
On Friday, Pitino dominated Smith out for Sunday’s recreation in opposition to No. 24 Creighton.
However on Sunday, the senior level guard, in some way, helped ninth-ranked St. John’s knock off the Bluejays 79-73 at a sold-out Madison Sq. Backyard.
The Utah switch healed sooner from neck and shoulder accidents than anybody might have anticipated.
“Biggest shock. I was shutting him down,” Pitino mentioned. “[I told him], ‘Deivon, when you’re one hundred pc, you’re again in.’ He mentioned [on Saturday], ‘Coach, do you mind if I try a player development session? I feel good, ready to go.’ It was one of many greatest shocks of the 12 months for me as a result of I assumed we have been wanting on the earliest after Connecticut [on Feb. 23].
“And to be honest with you, without him, we don’t win this game. We’re pressing the entire game, and if we don’t have him, we don’t win the game.”
Smith seemed the most effective he has since bruising his proper shoulder in a Jan. 11 win over Villanova. Since then, he missed 4 video games and didn’t appear like himself when he was on the ground, hesitant to shoot and favoring his proper shoulder.
However in 26 impactful minutes on Sunday, he had eight factors and three steals and confirmed no trace of an harm.
He pushed the tempo and defended properly. His presence enabled St. John’s to press for a lot of the recreation, and that appeared to wear down Creighton, which was held to 16 factors over the ultimate 14:51.
“His speed offensively and then defensively, they have a lot of good defenders, I think he’s their best on ball defender,” Creighton coach Greg McDermott mentioned. “He’s hard to screen. His closing speed is so good.”
Smith practiced absolutely on Saturday, which St. John’s saved beneath wraps. His availability got here as a shock, even to Creighton.
“Do you believe anything he says?” joked McDermott, referring to Pitino. “I may have before, but not anymore.”
Sophomore wing Brady Dunlap was again on the bench for the primary time since present process season-ending surgical procedure to restore a torn belly muscle.
