Report: St. John's guard Rysheed Jordan's future with program in doubt
St. John's point guard Rysheed Jordan may have played his final game with the Red Storm.
By
Sam Vecenie
•
2 min read
St. John's point guard Rysheed Jordan may have played his last game in a St. John's uniform, according to a report from the New York Daily News.
Jordan -- the Johnnies' leading returning scorer at 14.1 points per game -- is expected to be ruled academically ineligible for the fall semester.
However, even as he was emerging from an inconsistent start to the season — one during which he lost his starting job before regaining it — Jordan was apparently not keeping his academics in order.A source close to the St. John’s program said a departure is not a done deal. Jordan has been told what he must do in school during the summer session and fall semester in order to be able to play from mid-December through March. He is expected to meet with new coach Chris Mullin in the coming week, and a decision could be made then on whether he will continue at St. John’s.
However, a source close to Jordan said that he already has told those close to him in Philadelphia that his time with the Johnnies is through.
The Johnnies could really use Jordan next year, as he could help bridge the gap from the Steve Lavin era to the Chris Mullin one. The former five-star recruit's skill has never been in question, but rather it's been his personal life that has caused him problems in the past (as outlined earlier this year when he left the team for personal reasons).
Having said that, Mullin did just pick up a huge commitment from 2015 point guard Marcus LoVett, a scoring guard that has the potential to start right away. He'll help to stem the tide of this loss if this turn of events ends up officially coming to fruition with Jordan later this week.
Regarding Jordan's future, none of his options involve the NBA for next season. Because the early entry deadline for the NBA Draft has passed, he cannot be eligible for the 2015 draft. The earliest draft he will be eligible for is the 2016 NBA Draft, which means the earliest he can play in the NBA is the 2016-17 season. So if he was to leave St. John's to pursue professsional options, he would have to find another option for next season beyond the highest level, be it the D-League, Europe, or another continent.
Because of that factor, it'll be interesting to see what happens once he meets with the incoming coach Mullin this week. With Jordan's obvious skill level and decision-making that simply needs refining, it might make the most sense for him to get his grades in order, continue to work out, and then return to the school for its second semester.
