PG Smith (shoulder) questionable for St

Mar 12, 2025, 11:14 PM ET NEW YORK– Point guard Deivon Smith’s status is uncertain for No. 6 St. John’s heading into the postseason.Smith has actually been in and out

of the lineup given that January because of a nagging shoulder injury. He remained the regular-season finale Saturday, an 86-84 overtime triumph at then-No. 20 Marquette.The 6-foot senior practiced Tuesday and a little Wednesday, according to coach Rick Pitino. But Pitino wasn’t sure whether Smith will play Thursday for the top-seeded Red Storm in their Big East competition quarterfinal versus No. 9 seed Butler.”He looked OK. I think he’s rusty. He hasn’t practiced in a very long time,”Pitino said.Editor’s Picks Smith, a lightning-fast transfer from Utah, has missed 5 games since exiting a Jan. 11 triumph over Villanova with a bruised right shoulder.He has actually played in 25 games this season, beginning 17, and balanced 9.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.7 takes in 28 minutes to help the Red Storm( 27-4, 18-2)win their very first straight-out

Big East regular-season title given that 1985.”Here’s the story with Deivon: He returned from that– I think it was the Villanova game– he never ever was the exact same Deivon. He was constantly worried about getting hit once again,”Pitino said.”More than anything else he’s got to overcome the psychological part of getting hit once again. Due to the fact that you’re going to get hit. If you’re a point guard, you’re going to get hit in your shoulder, since you need to get over screens, you have to manage pick-and-rolls.

Once he overcomes the mental aspect of that, he’ll be fine and he’ll be the excellent player that he was in the first half of the season.”