St. John's guard Deivon Smith misses Georgetown game and is day-to-day with right shoulder sprain
Deivon Smith of the St. John's Red Storm reacts after a shoulder injury in the first half against the Villanova Wildcats at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
When asked if St. John’s felt the impact of Deivon Smith’s shoulder injury after Saturday’s 80-68 home win over Villanova, the answer from Simeon Wilcher was easy: “Of course.”
The Red Storm’s starting point guard was on the bench in a sling after painfully colliding with Wildcats guard Wooga Poplar late in the first half. St. John’s took a five-point lead the possession after Smith subbed out of the game with 2:02 left before halftime, but it trailed by three fewer than five minutes into the second half.
Smith attempted to return against Villanova, subbing in with 11:17 left but checked out about three minutes later.
“Just knowing what kind of player he is and how much he means to the team, just to have him hurting, it kind of hurt all of us,” Wilcher said. “But we knew that we had to step up. And it’s kind of like a next man up. Not saying that there’s anything significantly wrong with Deivon. But to win this game, it had to be like that. But of course we felt it for sure when Deivon went down.”
The next-man-up mentality took center stage again for St. John’s (14-3, 5-1 Big East) Tuesday night as Smith missed the game against Georgetown (12-4, 3-2) at Madison Square Garden. School officials described Smith’s injury as a sprained right shoulder and termed him day-to-day, though the extent of the injury is unknown.
Smith was given a cortisone shot, which he also had after a preseason injury to the same shoulder.
Rick Pitino noted on Saturday that Smith might be out Tuesday, but said “he won’t be out a long time.”
“He could miss Georgetown, but I don’t think it’ll be after that,” Pitino said. “But he’s a pretty tough kid.”
Smith, a righthanded shooter, said Monday that he was “pretty sore” but still able to shoot. Pitino did not say the shoulder was dislocated, though he did say it popped out and popped back in.
“I heard some stuff in there when it happened, like a little crack or whatever, and I was in some pain,” Smith said. “But it did pop, and I’m all good. My range of motion is getting better with the treatment, so I’m just taking it one step at a time.”
With Smith sidelined, five players played at least 17 second-half minutes against Villanova; Aaron Scott played 20, Wilcher and RJ Luis each played 19 and Kadary Richmond and Zuby Ejiofor each played 17. Those five players started Tuesday. No other player played more than three minutes in the second half on Saturday.
“Thank God for the media timeouts,” Wilcher said. “And free throws, for sure. Other than that, you are a little tired. But in the situation and in the heat of the moment, you kind of zone out from that and just have to worry about the task that’s going on at hand.”
Smith, the 6-foot fifth-year guard who had previous stops at Utah, Georgia Tech and Mississippi State, is averaging 10.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.9 steals. He is shooting a team-best 40.8% from three.
With Smith out, the 6-6 Richmond will likely will play most of the minutes at point guard. Though a main combination of just five players pushed St. John’s to the finish line against Villanova, a lack of depth becomes less sustainable the more time Smith misses.
The 6-4 Wilcher should also give the Red Storm minutes at point guard. Pitino was hopeful that freshman guard Jaiden Glover, who missed last Tuesday’s game at Xavier and played only one minute against Villanova with a wrist injury, would be available Tuesday. While Glover may not play point guard, his potential return could give Pitino more backcourt options while Smith is sidelined.
Smith’s next chance to return will be at Seton Hall on Saturday. Though the Red Storm likely would be significant favorites over the Pirates (6-10, 1-4), they have lost nine of their last 10 road games to Seton Hall.
With Roger Rubin
Ben Dickson joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
