Deivon Smith shows remorse after St. John’s suspension with return to starting lineup likely

From suspended to the starting lineup?

Coach Rick Pitino said there is a good chance that will be the case for Deivon Smith, the electric lead guard who was benched for the final 13:18 of a loss to Georgia in the Bahamas and suspended the following game after he reacted poorly to sitting down for the stretch of the aforementioned defeat.

Smith has responded well, according to Pitino, after he was disciplined.

Speaking on Monday for the first time since the suspension, Smith took accountability.

He faulted himself and admitted he learned a lesson from the situation.

“I look at it as something that had to happen for this team for us to move forward and build that collectiveness. I really think it’s over with,” said Smith, who is coming off a solid effort against Bryant in which he had 14 points, four rebounds and three assists. “Moving forward, I just want to be better for the team. Everybody has accepted it, nobody is really harping on it. I messed up, made a mistake and that’s that.

“We had a few meetings, I spoke to them, apologized to the team. Nothing really changed. I just had to take my hit on the wrist and move forward.”

The message: Nobody is bigger than the team. There is a standard Pitino expects everyone to meet.

“I broke it, and I was an example of that,” Smith said. “It had to happen for everybody to lock in and be one and be together.”

There is no doubt how valuable Smith, averaging 9.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists, has been when on the floor.

St. John’s has outscored the opposition by 98 points in his 247 minutes.

The Johnnies play faster and the offense seems to have a better flow with super-quick Smith.

Forward Zuby Ejiofor described it as an “energy shift” when Smith enters the game.

“He’s a guy that does a little bit of everything,” Ejiofor said. “He rebounds the heck out of the ball, he gets guys open, he’s able to knock down shots as well. He’s a really valuable player on the team. … Especially when he comes into the game, I feel there’s a little bit of a run that’s going [to happen], because of what he’s able to do and the connectivity of all five guys on the [floor].”

Smith didn’t want to go too deep into what caused the suspension, preferring to keep it in-house.

Watching that game and a half was difficult for him, especially the Georgia loss.

“I won’t do anything like that [again] to miss any playing time,” he promised.

St. John’s and Kentucky continue to discuss a home-and-home series, but the holdup remains that Kentucky would like to play next year at home and at the Garden in 2027, according to Pitino.

St. John’s doesn’t want the series to skip a year. New Kentucky coach Mark Pope was coached by Pitino at Kentucky.

Next year is the 30th anniversary of the 1996 Kentucky championship team that went 34-2 and Pitino has dubbed, “The Untouchables.” Pope was the captain of that group.