In what can only be seen as a major hit for a team with major NCAA Tournament hopes, Rysheed Jordan is taking an indefinite leave of absence from the St. John’s basketball program as he deals with personal and family matters in Philadelphia, the school announced Friday night.
Jordan, a 6-foot-4 sophomore guard, will not be with the team for Saturday’s contest with Butler at Carnesecca Arena.
“Rysheed will take an indefinite leave of absence from our basketball program and will not be with the team as he focuses his attention on personal and family circumstances,” said head coach Steve Lavin.
Jordan, a Preseason All-Big East Second Team selection, is the Red Storm’s second leading scorer and ranks sixth in the conference averaging 14.0 points per game. Jordan scored a career-high 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting against Fordham on Dec. 14 at Madison Square Garden. He also ranks fourth in the Big East averaging 2.1 steals to go along with a 2.9 assist per game average in 12 appearances this season.
Since early December, he had been supplanted in the starting lineup by senior guard Jamal Branch.
“He’s handling it well,” Branch said recently. “We talk every day. He helps me out and I help him out. He knows what he has to do when he gets on the court. As long as we win he’s happy.”
“Jamal is diminutive in stature with a cat-like quickness,” Lavin said before the recent loss to Seton Hall. “He has a pass-first mentality and enjoys setting his teammates up for easy baskets. He gives us a different look when he is running the team. Rysheed on the other hand is a big guard with both scoring and precise passing ability. Jamal and Rysheed give us a terrific playmaking and shot making tandem.”
Since the start of the season, St. John’s has now lost two bigs in Keith Thomas and Adonis De La Rosa, both for academic reasons, and Jordan, considered a potential future NBA player.
Thomas left the program following the reveal of a transcript scandal stemming from his time at Westchester Community College. De La Rosa remains with the program but has yet to play due to academic reasons.
St. John’s features a senior-laden team that hopes to make the NCAA Tournament. Senior guard D’Angelo Harrison told SNY.tv prior to the season it would be a “complete failure” if the Red Storm failed to make the Big Dance.
Looking ahead, Lavin already had to land a large recruiting class for 2015 given that the current roster features four core seniors and junior big man Chris Obekpa, currently projected as second-round NBA Draft pick.
If Jordan doesn’t return, Lavin will have yet another guard spot to fill.
Currently, the Red Storm only have one commit for 2015 in Philadelphia guard Samir Doughty.
They remain involved for guards Marcus LoVett Jr. and Brandon Sampson, as well as big man Cheick Diallo, among others.
