St. John’s guard Deivon Smith expects his nagging proper shoulder damage to persist for the remainder of the season.
There was uncertainty going into Thursday’s Massive East Match quarterfinal about whether or not Smith would go well with up. Whereas he did play within the 78-57 win over Butler at Madison Sq. Backyard, Smith gave the impression to be in discomfort.
“I don’t want to miss any more games,” Smith stated afterward. “This is super special and I want to be part of it all.”
Since he suffered the damage on Jan. 11, Smith has sat out of 5 video games, together with Saturday’s regular-season finale at Marquette.
In mid-February, head coach Rick Pitino advised Smith may miss the rest of the common season. However Smith performed in every of the following 5 video games, logging greater than half-hour in 4 of them.
Smith stated Thursday that there have been discussions about whether or not he ought to relaxation for a few of the Massive East Match to prepare for the NCAA Match, however that he wished to offer it a go.
“I think he’s mentally very self-conscious, and it’s bothering him more mentally than it will bother physically,” Pitino stated.
“[With] injuries, you’ve got to get over the hump mentally, and he has to get over the hump mentally. I’m sure it’s bothering him. He’s a tough kid. … He pays too much attention to it. He’s got to block it out of his mind, and it’s easier said than done.”
Smith performed solely 12 minutes in Thursday’s win, however that was largely the results of him drawing two fouls inside 13 seconds of coming into the sport. That was the one time he noticed within the first half.
The senior completed with three factors, 4 rebounds and two assists.
“Everything feels pretty normal,” Smith stated. “I’m just getting my wind back up. I felt good out there.”
The speedy Smith is a crucial a part of the Pink Storm’s press protection and transition offense, and he’s one of many group’s high on-ball defenders.
He suffered one other hit in Thursday’s sport, however he expects to play in Friday night time’s semifinal sport in opposition to Marquette, even with the short turnaround.
“I should be fine,” Smith stated. “Get some treatment tonight. Get some in the morning. [We] play at 6:30 [p.m.] so I have enough time. I’ll be more than fine.”
GREAT SCOTT
Aaron Scott delivered a well-rounded efficiency in Thursday’s win, ending with 15 factors, 5 steals and 4 rebounds in 22 minutes.
However there may have been extra.
That’s as a result of Scott picked up his second foul on the 13:42 mark of the primary half, then subbed out for the rest of the half.
“The first foul was really ridiculous,” Pitino stated. “He had the guy locked up. He couldn’t dribble, and all [Scott] had to do was just stay square. He reached in and tried to slap at the ball. Had no shot. That was an absurd foul, and then he goes and gets two. He makes one or two of those per game and it makes no sense at all.”
Scott drew his fourth foul with 8:34 left within the sport and once more went to the bench, that point for greater than three minutes.
It’s a persisting downside for Scott, who has drawn at the least 4 fouls in 4 of his final six video games.
The answer, Scott stated, is to do a greater job of displaying his fingers and to cease reaching.
“I feel like I impact winning,” Scott stated. “I did feel good about the minutes I had on the court, but obviously I have to stay out there and stop getting stupid fouls.”
READY FOR REMATCH
Friday’s semifinal assembly with Marquette comes simply six days after St. John’s eked out an 86-84 additional time win over the Golden Eagles in Milwaukee.
That sport featured 16 ties and 17 lead modifications.
“There are a lot of things we can take from that game that we want to do better,” Marquette head coach Shaka Good stated after Thursday’s 89-97 win over Xavier within the Massive East Match quarterfinal.
“I thought that game actually helped us today to be better down the stretch, making free throws specifically. But St. John’s has got a heck of a team.”
St. John’s swept its regular-season collection in opposition to Marquette.
“They’re a very athletic team, very physical team,” stated Golden Eagles guard Kam Jones, who had 32 factors, 9 rebounds and 7 assists in opposition to St. John’s final weekend.
“They’ve got a lot of long, tall players, and they’re older, too. It’s pretty hard to deal with at this level, but it is what it is, and we’re gonna go after them for 40 minutes.”
