It sounds like St. John’s could get its speedy point guard back for its next game.
After a hard-fought 63-58 victory over Georgetown Tuesday night, Rick Pitino said he is hopeful that Deivon Smith will return on Saturday against Seton Hall in Newark.
Smith, the Johnnies’ engine, missed the win over the Hoyas with a bruised right shoulder.
Georgetown because of a bruised right shoulder. Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
He suffered the injury late in the first half against Villanova on Saturday.
Smith received a cortisone shot on Tuesday to alleviate the discomfort and is also on anti-inflammatory medicine.
“I think he’ll play against Seton Hall. We knew he was 100 percent out here,” Pitino said after the Johnnies won for the 10th time in 11 games. “He has a 60, 70 percent chance of playing [on Saturday]. Seton Hall is going to be a really tough game.
“There’s no tear, no dislocation,” the Hall of Fame coach added. “He’s just got a bad bruise.”
Sophomore wing Brady Dunlap will see a specialist in Toronto on Wednesday.
He is dealing with a torn abdominal muscle in addition to a broken UCL in his left hand.
The hope is that Dunlap won’t need surgery for the stomach muscle. That would end his season.
The specialist worked with Jamal Mashburn years ago with a similar injury.
“Either way, I don’t think Brady is going to play this year,” Pitino said. “I just would like to keep him away from surgery, because it’s 3-4 months, that type of surgery.”
After making only 11 3-point shots in its first five league games, St. John’s has hit 15 in the past two. They were 8-for-24 from distance on Tuesday.
Aaron Scott hit four of them on seven attempts.
“I’m seeing us becoming the Golden State Warriors from the 3-point line,” Pitino said jokingly. “I’m feeling it.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
