St. John’s is getting back its engine — just in time for the biggest stretch of this joyride of a season.
After missing three of the last four games with a bruised right shoulder he injured on Jan. 11, senior point guard Deivon Smith is expected to return Saturday against Providence at the Garden.
He has had multiple full practices since receiving a second cortisone shot, and is ready to go.
“I’m feeling good. I’m not thinking about it,” the 6-foot Smith said Friday. “Mentally, that was the last part, just taking hits, getting out there and running. I’m pretty good now.”
His mindset is simple: “Just play hard, [use my] motor, let the game come to me — same stuff that you guys had already been seeing. I hope my shot goes in. I’ve been working on it.”
This game kicks off a difficult seven-game stretch that includes one contest against No. 9 Marquette, two with No. 25 Connecticut and a second meeting opposite Creighton — the three other top teams in the Big East.
St. John’s (18-3, 9-1) kept on winning even without Smith, entering the matchup with Providence riding a seven-game win streak.
It is off to its best start through 21 games since the 1985-86 campaign and has its highest national ranking, at No. 15, in a decade.
But getting Smith back should only help the Johnnies.
Without him, they had to rally from big deficits at home against Xavier and Georgetown, and the offense fell from 49th in efficiency to 65th.
“It was a different type of team,” coach Rick Pitino said. “The pace wasn’t as fast. He gives us more pace. We had great size, we could switch all five positions. That’s a good thing.”
Smith makes St. John’s transition game go, is the team’s best 3-point shooter at 39.2 percent and is a strong defensive rebounder despite his size.
The dynamic lead guard is averaging 10.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.8 steals, and St. John’s has outscored the opposition by 178 points with Smith on the floor across 463 minutes.
That averages out to 10.5 points better per game than the opponent in his 17 appearances. Only RJ Luis (13.3) and Zuby Ejiofor (13.1) are more valuable by this metric.
Smith also has the best defensive rating on the team, of 88.3 per 100 possessions, according to BasketballReference.com.
It is also the 10th-best mark in the country. While Smith makes St. John’s smaller, it’s hard to say they’re not significantly better with him.
“I think we gambled. We went longer than we should have to get him 100 percent,” Pitino said. “We gambled that we could win without him — it was a big gamble and it paid off. Now I think he’s over the hump.
“He’s a great numbers guy. He’s going to have steals, assists, rebounds, points. Throughout his career, he’s been a guy that checks the boxes.”
While Smith was out, Kadary Richmond’s play picked up considerably. Over the last seven games, the Seton Hall transfer is averaging 12.2 points, 5.2 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 2.5 steals.
Richmond had no choice but to be more aggressive without St. John’s other top playmaker on the floor. But Pitino doesn’t expect a dropoff.
“We were a good team when they both played together. We’re going to inch him back into the lineup and see what happens,” Pitino said. “Kadary’s just getting better, not because of [Smith’s] absence. Is the ball in his hands a little bit more? Yes, but the ball will still be in his hands a lot.”
