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Deivon Smith traversed the country to get to Providence.
Smith is headed north with the rest of No. 2 seed St. John’s for a first-round game in the NCAA Tournament, and that three-hour bus ride from Queens should feel like nothing for a supersub who transferred three times in search of the opportunity that lies ahead Thursday against No. 15 Omaha.
“It’s kind of a dream-come-true moment, especially with these guys,” Smith said on Selection Sunday during the team’s on-campus watch party. “I’m just soaking it all in.”
Smith took some friendly ribbing from teammates about his journey from Mississippi State to Georgia Tech to Utah to St. John’s over a five-year career.
“It’s a great opportunity,” Big East Player of the Year RJ Luis Jr. said. “I’m glad Deivon got in on his fourth school. So happy we could help him out.”
A few hours before the bracket was revealed — with St. John’s knowing that it already had secured an automatic bid — Smith published to social media photos of himself holding the Big East Tournament championship trophy, cutting down the net and sitting with his teammates as confetti rained down at Madison Square Garden.
He captioned the post, “Best Decision I’ve Ever Made!!”
Why is that the case?
“Going through the process, finding a home to win in,” Smith said. “I’m happy I took a leap of faith and came on a [recruiting] visit with these guys. I didn’t even visit another school or talk to anybody else. I have family here, so it all just came together.”
Smith was an early-season starter before suffering a badly bruised right shoulder on Jan. 11.
He was just hitting stride again with four straight double-figure games before experiencing a setback on March 1 that nearly cost him the rest of the season.
CHECK OUT THE LATEST BIG EAST STANDINGS AND ST. JOHN’S STATS
But Smith has waited too long to be idle now.
He was even antsy sitting out the final 5:46 of the Big East Tournament final against Creighton as a precaution after absorbing some hard contact.
“I was ready to go back in,” Smith said. “I’m good.”
Smith averaged 9.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and four assists over 28 games, and he could be the one asked to hit a big 3-pointer in a clutch spot next weekend given that he shoots it at a better clip (36.7 percent) than any of the starters.
It will be the moment he has been preparing for since the first moment that he stepped onto campus with head coach Rick Pitino.
“When I hopped off the plane, I did a workout individually, and that was like what we were going to do every day,” Smith said. “I just knew that in order to take my game to the next level, I had to grind. That Coach P could get out there and work us out every day shows how dedicated he is to the game and to investing time in us as players. That was super special — and kind of all I needed to see.”
