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Rysheed Jordan, St. John’s Red Storm Agree To Part Ways

By Kenneth Teape

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Rysheed Jordan and St. John’s agreed to part ways, as he Jordan decided it was time to pursue a professional career.

Chris Mullin’s job as head coach of the St. John’s Red Storm became a little more difficult Friday afternoon, as it was announced that guard Rysheed Jordan would no longer be with the program. Jordan will end what had been an up-and-down career with the Red Storm, as the school announced in a press release Friday that he will instead pursue a professional career.

Jordan, who was entering his Junior season from Philadelphia, is ineligible for the 2015 NBA Draft, as the time for prospects to enter their name passed months ago. Because of that, he will be ineligible to play in the NBA this season, so his dreams of playing on the biggest stage basketball has to offer will have to wait until the 2016-17 season. Until then, he could choose to enter the NBA D-League draft, or play overseas for a season and enter the draft next season such as players like Brandon Jennings, Jeremy Tyler and Emmanuel Mudiay this season.

In a statement, Jordan said, “Playing professional basketball has always been a goal of mine. I believe I am ready to take the next step in my basketball career and plan to work hard to achieve my dream of playing in the NBA. I am thankful for the opportunities and support St. John’s University has provided me. This decision was made with my family’s best interest in mind.”

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There doesn’t seem to be any bad blood between the two parties, as sources at the New York Post say this was a decision that was agreed upon mutually between Jordan and Mullin, after Jordan was ruled academically ineligible for the first semester of the season. He could have returned to the team after that had he passed all of his summer and fall classes, but decided against that route.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time the former highly touted prospect from Philadelphia has had troubles at St. John’s. He was thought of as a potential lottery selection in the NBA, as he was able to combine a special kind of athleticism, speed and size with an underrated jumper into being a top-20 prospect of his class. He was never able to fully recognize his talents at St. John’s though, as he had a couple of issues off the court that may have stunted his growth on it.

He lost people close to him during his freshman year, and was also suspended a game for violating team rules. This past season it looked as if he may be dismissed, as he missed a game as part of a three-day absence from the team, in which he returned home to Philadelphia without permission. Sources at the New York Post also said part of it was because of attitude problems, but that ended up being the only game he missed for disciplinary reasons.

Last season the 6-feet-4 inch guard played starters minutes for the Red Storm, but was used as a sixth man for much of the season. He averaged 14.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game for a Red Storm team that played a unique style of basketball. He was looked at as a key piece for Mullin’s first Red Storm team, one of a very few holdovers from last season that was expected to ease the transition for the rookie head coach. Unfortunately that will not be the case anymore, and Mullin will now have to change his plans at the point guard position.

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