For weeks, Rick Pitino was adamant that an offensive leap was in there.

St. John’s was a better shooting team than it had shown. There was ample room for improvement.

Now that Deivon Smith is healthy, it is beginning to happen. Sunday, Connecticut played off the 10th-ranked Johnnies from deep — and they paid for it, St. John’s shooting at least 42 percent (8-for-19) from distance for the second straight game.

Look no further than Smith’s return to health for this recent jump. The jet-quick lead guard is almost impossible to stay in front of. He is the first-place Johnnies’ best 3-point shooter at 39.1 percent. He makes others around him better.