Utah guard Deivon Smith has his first game as a Runnin’ Ute under his belt.
In a 76-62 win over Utah Valley on Saturday, the Georgia Tech transfer got his first minutes on the Hunstman Center hardwood after a court injunction that will be in place through the end of the 2023-24 academic year cleared the way for two-time transfers to play.
In 11 minutes of playing time, Smith registered no points, two assists and one steal while shooting 0 for 2 from the field.
Offensively, it didn’t come as much of a surprise that Smith was rusty in his first game action since Feb. 11.
He did play good on-ball defense, and had a steal and an assist to Cole Bajema after pushing the ball on the fast break shortly after taking the floor for the first time.
Utah coach Craig Smith also called him “a little tentative offensively” as he was trying to gain chemistry in his first game as a Ute.
“I’m not really worried about this game. I think once I definitely get comfortable and we get our chemistry together, then we’re going to be a really, really good team,” Deivon Smith said postgame.
Utah has one final nonconference game left, against Bellarmine on Wednesday, to get the Loganville, Georgia, native some more run before the stakes get higher.
Utah starts Pac-12 play on Dec. 29, hosting Washington State before welcoming Washington into the Huntsman Center on New Year’s Eve.
What could the guard’s role be moving forward?
In his first-half minutes on Saturday, he was the primary point guard from the moment he checked in, but in the second half, he played mostly off-ball.
At Georgia Tech, he was primarily a point guard for the Yellow Jackets.
“I think it’s going to be both (on ball and off). I think we’re going to have to grow and see exactly,” Craig Smith said when asked about Deivon Smith’s role going forward with the team.
One thing that stands out about Deivon Smith’s tape from Georgia Tech is his speed pushing the ball up the court and his court vision. That tempo wasn’t present on Saturday as he got acclimated, but it’s something his coach wants to see.
“I do see him having the ball in his hands a lot. He can really make plays. He’s got great speed. We wanted to race him up. He can race the ball up the floor. He wasn’t doing that tonight. He can. It’s one thing we told him at halftime, too. Don’t think, just go play,” Craig Smith said.
Deivon Smith will have the ball in his hands plenty, but he also has to be able to be successful off-ball when Rollie Worster is running the show.
“Quite frankly, I think he’s going to do both. I think he’s going to be able to do both,” Craig Smith said. “We can still outlet to Rollie and the way he can run the floor and get to the corner.
“And now with our offense, now he’s going to be coming off what we call DHOs (dribble handoffs), or he’s going to be coming off ball screens and being a big-time playmaker that way too. So I think we can utilize him both ways, but certainly he’s played primarily the point guard in practice.”