St. John’s Deivon Smith hopes to go from sling to shot

Heart and competitive fire are measured mostly in deeds — never analytics — and St. John’s Deivon Smith proved he’s a high scorer in both categories on Saturday night when the Red Storm beat Villanova at the Garden.

He suffered a significant right shoulder injury before halftime, came out for the second half in a sling and, with the Red Storm having slipped from a lead to a deficit, removed the sling and asked back into the game. He was clearly too hampered to contribute but proved an inspiration in the 12-point win.

“He’s a warrior,” coach Rick Pitino said.

Smith, the team’s point guard and rudder, was at it again on Monday as St. John’s (14-3, 5-1 Big East) readied for Tuesday’s 7:30 p.m. game against longtime rival Georgetown (12-4, 3-2) at the Garden.

Asked if he might play, Smith replied, “I never rule myself out until it’s time to go and I’m not suited up, honestly. I try to play through a lot of things and I’m a pretty tough guy, so I’m just going to keep doing treatment, keep doing what our staff asks and just try to be ready for whatever’s next.”

School officials are calling the injury a sprained shoulder and Smith said he’s still “pretty sore.” The righthander said he is able to shoot. But when asked about ballhandling, passing and defending, he said, “I haven’t done too much — [I’m] just trying to get everything 100% or as close to 100 as possible. I haven’t really done too much . . . but I feel like if I put my mind to it, I could do it.”

St. John’s showed Saturday that it can still win without Smith’s considerable talent on the court. After he exited for good with the Storm down three and 8:29 left, St. John’s outscored the Wildcats 30-15 with RJ Luis Jr., Kadary Richmond and Simeon Wilcher scoring 25 of those points.

Luis had 23 of his 30 points and nine of his 10 rebounds in the second half. For that performance and his 18 points and 10 rebounds in a win at Xavier on Tuesday, he was named Big East Player of the Week. The two victories, however, didn’t elevate St. John’s back into the AP Top 25; they missed by one spot.

Snith said the pain he felt after the collision with Villanova’s Wooga Poplar was among the worst he felt on a basketball court.

“It hurt a lot — I wouldn’t lie,” Smith said. “I wasn’t really aware [and] I couldn’t brace myself for the hit. It was painful. . . . I don’t want to give too much detail on it because I might play on Tuesday, but I heard some stuff in there when it happened, like a little crack or whatever, and I was in some pain. But it did pop.”

“My range of motion is getting better with the treatment, so I’m just taking it one step at a time,” he added.

When the Storm returned to the court after halftime, Smith was heavily wrapped with his arm in a sling, didn’t warm up and took a spot at the end of the bench. But as St. John’s failed to maintain its hold of the lead, he was suddenly in the second seat next to Pitino.

“I told him ‘Put me in’ and I told him I was ready to play . . .  He sent me right in,” Smith said. “I was still in some pain, but I was hoping my adrenaline would kind of take care of the rest and do that for me. But I didn’t really think that was the best fit for us to win the game, with me playing hurt, playing with one arm, so I let my teammates handle it.”

“When I saw he couldn’t shoot it, I just took him right back out,” Pitino said. “He’s a pretty tough kid.”

“Just me giving it another shot shows the love I have for my team, the passion I have for the game,” Smith said. “I’m definitely willing to go out there with one arm.”

Dunlap’s return looks unlikely

The chances that St. John’s will get back sophomore Brady Dunlap from his injuries seem to be getting slimmer. His recovery from December ligament surgery in his left hand is on schedule, but a recently discovered abdominal tear could be his undoing. He planned to get a third opinion from a Toronto Raptors team doctor before determining if he’d need season-ending surgery. If that’s the case, he could get a medical redshirt to retain a season of eligibility . . . Pitino said freshman Jaiden Glover (wrist) was still feeling pain when he shoots on Saturday but was holding out hope he might be available Tuesday.