At the moment, Rysheed Jordan isn’t a member of the St. John’s basketball team.
The prized freshman point guard from Philadelphia was suspended for violating team rules Friday night, missing the Red Storm’s 64-54 victory over Monmouth. Head coach Steve Lavin declined to say when he will be back — or if Jordan will return at all.
Jordan, the highest-rated recruit of the Lavin era, wasn’t on the bench with his teammates against Monmouth and didn’t practice with the team on Thursday, though Lavin wouldn’t say whether that was part of the suspension or the result of it.
“He knows there are certain responsibilities,” the coach said.
Lavin also told reporters not to read into Jordan’s absence at the game. When he previously has suspended players — center Chris Obekpa during the preseason and guard D’Angelo Harrison at the end of last year — they haven’t been on the bench either. It is believed Jordan hasn’t left campus, said Lavin, who thinks Jordan “absolutely” will be part of the program moving forward, whether that is Tuesday’s game against Longwood or down the road.
Vague throughout his lengthy postgame press conference and careful with his words, Lavin repeatedly and in a variety of ways said Jordan “can join the team if he takes care of his team responsibilities.” Lavin said he made a decision shortly after getting to Carnesecca Arena late Friday afternoon and meeting with his staff.
The gifted and lightning-quick 6-foot-4 Jordan struggled in his first three games, averaging 4.3 points and 2.3 assists in 18.3 minutes and seeing little action in the second half of the previous two games. Lavin said there were no problems with Jordan related to playing time or his behavior during the games.
“If he takes care of business, he’ll be on the team,” Lavin said. “If he doesn’t, he wont. … It’s a basic responsibility that our team members must adhere to, and if they take care of that aspect, they’re allowed to participate as student-athletes and if they don’t, they won’t. It’s real basic.”
http://nypost.com/2013/11/23/red-storm-suspend-prized-freshman-jordan-indefinitely/