Deivon Smith ready to kick it into another gear after surprise St. Johns return

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The plan, Deivon Smith insisted, was for him to miss Sunday’s game against Creighton.This wasn’t Rick Pitino trying to pull one over on anyone.Smith hadn’t practiced in nearly a week, still bothered by the bruised right shoulder he suffered Jan.

11.That game he missed, a loss at Villanova that snapped the 10th-ranked Johnnies’ 10-game winning streak, bothered him.“Watching that Villanova game was super hard because I know we should’ve won that,” the senior point guard recalled over Zoom on Monday.So Saturday morning, his shoulder feeling better, he reached out to Pitino.

He wanted to try a player development session.That went well.

He practiced, too.That went even better.“I had a great [individual workout].

I had a great practice,” the 6-foot Smith recalled as St.John’s prepared to visit DePaul on Wednesday night.

“I hit six or seven 3s, and I said, ‘I might be back.’”He looked back on Sunday, looking like his pre-injury self.Smith had eight points, three assists and two rebounds in 26 quality minutes.

Even more than that, he played with his trademark pace, defended at a high level and wasn’t favoring his shoulder.In the three previous games he played in, that wasn’t the case.

The speedy lead guard was tentative and unsure of himself.It was part of the reason Pitino had suggested he could miss the rest of the regular season.St.

John’s (22-4, 13-2) needed the impactful Smith back, not the player thinking about his injury while on the court.After the loss to Villanova, Pitino said he wasn’t planning on seeing Smith on the floor until he was completely 100 percent physically and mentally, and suggested he could be out until March.The player heard those quotes and joked that Pitino was being “dramatic.”CHECK OUT THE LATEST BIG EAST STANDINGS AND ST.

JOHN’S STATS“It was definit...