Deivon Smith guts through St. John’s win after being ruled out

On Wednesday, Rick Pitino was worried Deivon Smith might not be back until the postseason.

On Friday, Pitino ruled Smith out for Sunday’s game against No. 24 Creighton.

But on Sunday, the senior point guard, somehow, helped ninth-ranked St. John’s knock off the Bluejays 79-73 at a sold-out Madison Square Garden.

The Utah transfer healed faster from neck and shoulder injuries than anyone could have expected.

“Biggest shock. I was shutting him down,” Pitino said. “[I told him], ‘Deivon, when you’re 100 percent, you’re back in.’ He said [on Saturday], ‘Coach, do you mind if I try a player development session? I feel good, ready to go.’ It was one of the biggest shocks of the year for me because I thought we were looking at 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 looked the best he has since bruising his right shoulder in a Jan. 11 win over Villanova. Since then, he missed four games and didn’t look like himself when he was on the floor, hesitant to shoot and favoring his right shoulder.

But in 26 impactful minutes on Sunday, he had eight points and three steals and showed no hint of an injury.

He pushed the pace and defended well. His presence enabled St. John’s to press for most of the game, and that appeared to wear out Creighton, which was held to 16 points over the final 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 said. “He’s hard to screen. His closing speed is so good.”

Smith practiced fully on Saturday, which St. John’s kept under wraps. His availability came as a surprise, even to Creighton.