Deivon Smith’s right shoulder is “pretty sore,” but he doesn’t believe it is out of the question that he could play Tuesday night against Georgetown at the Garden.
“I never rule myself out until it’s time to go and I’m not suited up,” the Johnnies point guard said over Zoom on Monday. “I try to play through a lot of pain. I’m a pretty tough guy.”
It sounds like St. John’s and Smith were fortunate. It could’ve been much worse. The school is listing the 6-foot Utah transfer as day to day with a sprained right shoulder. It’s more likely he will return Saturday at Seton Hall than play against Georgetown on Tuesday. Smith said he can shoot, but hasn’t done much in terms of basketball activity the past two days.
St. John’s guard Deivon Smith suffers a shoulder injury against Villanova on Jan. 11, 2025. Robert Sabo for NY Post
St. John’s guard Deivon Smith suffers a shoulder injury against Villanova on Jan. 11, 2025. Robert Sabo for NY Post
“It’s pretty sore. I’m moving a lot better than I was on Saturday,” he said. “But right now I’m pretty sore, heavily treating it.”
Smith, the team’s engine and starting lead guard, suffered the injury while going for a loose ball late in the first half of the Johnnies’ win over Villanova when he collided with Wooga Poplar. Smith heard a minor crack upon impact.
He called it one of the three most painful moments of his life.
He stayed down and then immediately went to the locker room. He came out for the second half in a sling. At one point, after stretching the arm out, he took off the sling and sat next to coach Rick Pitino on the bench, telling him, “Put me in, I’m ready to play.” Smith did get in the game for three minutes after halftime, but was extremely limited and didn’t take a shot.
St. John’s guard Deivon Smith wears a wrap on his right shoulder after suffering an injury on Jan. 11, 2025. Robert Sabo for NY Post“I did feel like my team needed some energy and I was like, ‘Lets try to wrap it up,’ ” Smith recalled. “I saw the point guard from DePaul do it in the film we watched. I was like, ‘If he can do it, I can give it a try, too.’ It was worth a shot.”
From the time he got hurt, his teammates kept on coming over to him, checking on his well-being. The victory eased the pain somewhat. Without Smith, St. John’s still won its ninth game in 10 tries, closing it out with a 14-3 run over the final 2:05.
“We all really, really wanted this win. We prepped really hard for it, we watched a lot of film for it, we did a lot of work making sure we didn’t make the mistakes we did in previous games just to secure the ‘W.’” Smith said. “RJ [Luis] played really well, Kadary [Richmond] made big plays, [Simeon Wilcher] made big plays, Zuby [Ejiofor] plays excellent always. I know my teammates always have my back.
“Just me giving it another shot, just shows the love I have for my team, the passion I have for the game. I’m definitely willing to go out there with one arm. I wish it was my left arm, because I would’ve played more. We just have a lot of passion, we care about each other, we have a lot of fun together. The concern they had, I definitely got a lot of love from my teammates, and I appreciate them for getting that win.”
St. John’s junior wing RJ Luis was named the Big East Player of the Week on Monday after leading the Johnnies to a 2-0 week. He averaged 24 points and 10 rebounds in victories over Villanova and Xavier. In the Villanova win, Luis set a St. John’s career-high with 30 points, 23 coming in a dazzling second half performance. … St. John’s narrowly missed out on returning to the Associated Press Top 25 poll on Monday. The Red Storm received 83 votes, good for 26th overall.
