Transfer Player Spotlight: Deivon Smith (St. John’s)

Rick Pitino is one of the best coaches of this generation. He doesn’t miss the NCAA tournament very often but last year was one of the few years he wasn’t able to put it all together to make the tournament. Last season Pitino said “This has been the most unenjoyable experience of my life” in reference to coaching last season St. John’s team. Whether that was a ploy to motivate his team or not it shows his commitment to winning. He is not going to let another season like that happen again. One way he is trying to avoid another disappointing season is by attacking the transfer portal. One of his biggest additions is point guard Deivon Smith from Utah. The 6-1 guard averaged 13.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 7.1 assists last year to go along with his 5 triple doubles. Those five triple doubles put him top five all time for career triple doubles in NCAA history. He is a dynamic point guard that will be the on court leader for this St. John’s team. Smith is immediately easily one of the five best point guards in the Big East and should a big part of getting the red storm back to the field of 64 for the first time in a decade.

What immediately jumps out about Deivon Smith is that he was 6th in assists per game and 3rd in assist rate last season. He is one of the best floor generals in the nation and he should get even better in Rick Pitino’s offense. Utah’s offense a year ago was very focused on the inside scoring aspect of the game and it did result in a lot of assists for Deivon Smith but in the Johnnies offense he is going to have Kadary Richmond running the floor with him looking to score the ball. That is what is going to make their transition offense so unstoppable. When Deivon Smith has space in transition he is one of the best playmakers in the nation. He can either get to the rim, find a cutting teammate or find an open shooter. The issue is that inside the half court he doesn’t create enough separation to be that elite level of playmaker. He is obviously very good at creating for his teammates but if he wants to approach the level of one of the better shot creators in the Big East then he has to be able to create separation for himself. He is really quick but it does not seem to result in him blowing by his defenders very much. If he isn’t consistently putting pressure and collapsing the defense then the passing lanes will never be open enough in the half court for him to show off his passing ability to its full extent. If he can start doing that he will become a much better offensive player even if the assist numbers go down. There is a good chance that his assist number in his new offense go down just because there is not going to be as many post up opportunities which was a large percentage of his assists last season. While on the surface level that might appear like it would be a bad thing but if he can transition into truly creating open shots for his teammates through attracting the defense his passing ability could finally used to it’s full potential and it could be special. Players like Tyler Kolek got most of there assists off actions like Marquette’s transition pick and roll. He was able to get downhill and have a plethora of options to choose from. Whether it was scoring himself, kicking to shooters, or finding Oso Ighodaro on the role. That is the next step for Deivon Smith in his progression. He is already one of the best floor generals in the nation but if he can develop into a player that can manufacture points for his team by himself then he will become an elite player. One thing that is going to help with that is the growth of his three point shot. Coming into last season he had never shot above 28% from beyond the arc but last season he was able to vastly improve into a just above 40% three point shooter. The progression that is going to help him the most with his shot is developing more consistent moves to get to his three point shot off the dribble. Right now defenders are able to go under screens and play conservatively off of him. If he could get defenders to chase him more beyond the the arc he could use his quickness to get downhill much more consistently. Right now most of his offensive plays in the half court come in pick and role scenarios. Despite what makes sense with his assist numbers Smith is looking to score in these sets. He loves to get defenders on his back and trap them or get to his midrange. If he does pass it most of the time it is an alley oop to the big man. Overall he is very effective in the pick and roll St. John’s will use him a lot in this role when it isn’t Kadary Richmond handling the ball. One of his best strengths is how controlled he is in the lane. He is never pushing to hard or putting himself in a bad scenario. A lot of that is because of how well he plays off of two feet in the lane. It allows him to truly have options if he does get stuck rather than just forcing up a contested shot. When he does get to the rim or the lane he is an inconsistent finisher. He shows flashes of using his athleticism to be a great finisher but it doesn’t happen enough for him to be a great finisher at the rim. He also struggles to finish with his left hand despite often going to that side. It results in him not being confident and settling for contested floaters or jumpers too often. He is also a great off ball mover he excels at cutting to the rim or cutting to the ball which is going to allow Kadary Richmond to continue to have a heavy on ball role. This just allows for a lot of lineup flexibility and should vastly help this team.

On the other side of the ball Deivon Smith has his concerns. He is only six feet tall and 165 LBs. His athleticism does allow him to have the potential to grow immensely as a defender despite his size limitations. That progression has not happened yet. He does use his athleticism to get steals in the passing lanes and grab defensive rebounds but that is about it. He is below average as an on ball and off ball defender. He is not going to be a defensive liability out there or anything but he is not a guy that Pitino is going to feel confident putting on the opposing teams best guard. That responsibility will likely fall to Kadary Richmond. His athleticism and quickness really do give him the potential to be a good above average defender. Rick Pitino has consistently throughout his career gotten the most defensive potential out of his teams and players. Hopefully he can do the same thing for this team and Deivon Smith. In the end St. John’s is getting a very talented player in Deivon Smith who is going to help this team make it back to the tournament. St. John’s is easily a top five team in the Big East and will be a scary team this upcoming season.