Davon Smith crossed the country to reach Providence.
Smith is heading north with the rest of the second-seeded St. John's for the first round match in the NCAA Tournament. A three-hour bus ride from Queens should feel nothing for the Super Sub, who transferred three times on Thursday to Omaha, No. 15, for a first chance.
“It's a kind of dreamy, true moment, especially for these people,” Smith said in his team's Sunday choice of watch party on campus. “I'm just soaking it all.”
Smith took friendly ribs from his teammates throughout his five-year career from Mississippi to Georgia Tech, Utah and St. John's.
“It's a great opportunity,” said Big East Player of the Year RJ Lewis Jr. “It's great that Davon has joined his fourth school. We're so happy to be able to help him.”
Hours before the bracket was revealed — St. John's already knows he has secured an automatic bid — Smith has been released in social media photos of himself holding the Big East Tournament Championship trophy, cutting down the net, and sitting with his teammates when it rained at Madison Square Garden.
He captioned the post, “The best decision I've ever made!!”
Why is that so?
“We go through the process and find a home to win,” Smith said. “I made a leap of faith, [recruiting] Visit with these people. I didn't visit another school or talk to other people. I have a family here, so it's just that everything came together. ”
Smith was an early season starter before suffering a severely damaged right shoulder on January 11th.
He was striding again in four consecutive double figure games before experiencing a set break on March 1st, when the remaining costs of the season were almost sacrificed.
Check out the latest Big East rankings and cents. John's statistics
But Smith had waited too long to be idle now.
He sat at the final 5:46 of the Big East Tournament Final with Clayton as a precaution after absorbing hard contacts.
“I was ready to go back,” Smith said. “i'm good.”
With Smith averaged 9.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 28 games of four assists, he was asked to hit a big three-pointer at the clutch spot next weekend, considering he would shoot with a better clip (36.7%) than the starter.
It will be the first moment he stepped onto campus with Coach Rick Pitino to be ready.
“When I jumped off the plane, I trained individually, and that was like something we were trying to do every day,” Smith said. “I knew I had to crush my game to take my game to the next level. That coach P was there and we were able to get us out every day. It shows how devoted he is to the game and how he invests his time as a player. It was very special – and it was like everything I needed to see.”
