Rick Pitino beats out Arkansas and Louisville for former Kentucky transfer portal target

Rick Pitino had a good morning. The former Kentucky coach just landed a former Kentucky transfer portal target, beating out Louisville and John Calipari/Arkansas in the process.

Utah transfer guard Deivon Smith is headed to St. John’s. The 6-foot senior from Decatur, Georgia chose the Red Storm over Washington, West Virginia, Louisville, and Arkansas. Kentucky reached out to Smith when he entered the transfer portal last month but moved on to other backcourt prospects, including Lamont Butler and Kerr Kriisa, who have since committed to play for Mark Pope in Lexington.

Last year at Utah, Smith averaged 13.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 7.1 assists per game, shooting 46.7% from the field and 40.8% from three. He is the No. 21 player in the On3 transfer portal rankings. St. John’s will be his fourth school. Smith started his college career at Mississippi State and transferred to Georgia Tech after his freshman year, playing for the Yellow Jackets for two seasons. He’ll have two seasons of eligibility remaining.

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Jordan Ivy-Curry down to three schools

There’s also news on another former transfer portal target. UT San Antonio transfer guard Jordan Ivy-Curry told On3’s Joe Tipton this morning he is down to Auburn, UCF, and Wake Forest. The 6’3″ junior will visit each school this week, starting with UCF. Kentucky actually reached out to Ivy-Curry in late March, before John Calipari left for Arkansas, but was never a serious contender.

In the 2023-24 season, Ivy-Curry averaged 17.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game for the Roadrunner. He started his career at UTSA and transferred to Pacific for his junior season (2022-23) before returning to UTSA last year. Now, he could be an opposing SEC sideline if he decides to play for Bruce Pearl on the Plains.