St. John’s Deivon Smith has big night after Rick Pitino’s challenge
Rick Pitino’s pregame speech on Saturday was quick and to the point.
“Play like Zuby [Ejiofor],” with the coach referring to St. John’s all-energy forward.
Deivon Smith took that to heart.
The speedy 6-foot guard filled up the stat sheet in the Johnnies’ 97-76 win over Delaware at Carnesecca Arena, notching 20 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists and three steals.
He also hit four of his five 3-point attempts.
“I tried to get more rebounds than Zuby tonight, honestly,” Smith said. “That’s my game, though. I like to rebound, I like to get guys going, play fast. Just me rebounding, I get to start the break a lot faster and get guys involved.”
Smith has been terrific since returning from a one-game suspension.
In four games, he is averaging 15 points, 6.7 rebounds, 5.7 assists and three steals.
“I think Deivon has picked up his game to Zuby’s level, which is great,” Pitino said. “He’s really, really playing hard.”
The only negative to Smith’s day was a missed windmill dunk in the final seconds. Pitino wasn’t too hard on him about it.
“Thirteen rebounds, eight assists, I think he deserves his moment to try and do something special,” the Hall of Fame coach said. “I wish I could’ve done that in my day.”
Portuguese import Ruben Prey got his first start of the season on Saturday and had two points, a rebound and a blocked shot in 11 minutes.
Pitino wanted to give the freshman extended playing time to see if he was ready to play a bigger role as the new year nears.
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Prey is battling USC transfer Vince Iwuchukwu for minutes as Ejiofor’s backup.
The 7-foot-1 Iwuchukwu played well in the win, notching 11 points and three rebounds in 10 minutes.
He likely will play over Prey against Creighton on Tuesday to combat Bluejays center Ryan Kalkbrenner, according to Pitino.
win over Delaware on Dec. 28, 2024. Robert Sabo for New York Post
“In the low post, he’s really improving his game. We’re going to need him against Creighton, certainly,” Pitino said of Iwuchukwu.
St. John’s and Delaware didn’t shake hands after the game, which was agreed upon by both coaches beforehand.
There have been a number of near-skirmishes across college basketball in the handshake line and Pitino believes it is in his team’s interest to avoid it.
“Right now, the best thing to do is wish the coach good luck, wave to everybody, be gentlemen and move on,” Pitino said. “It’s not a big deal, but it’s something we want to do.”
