One day after Steve Lavin was unable to say whether Rysheed Jordan would return from his indefinite leave of absence, the St. John’s coach said he “expects” the talented sophomore to return eventually.
The 6-foot-4 Jordan, who took leave on Friday night to deal with “personal and family circumstances,” according to the school, missed Saturday’s 73-69 loss to Butler. Lavin said after the setback Jordan won’t play at the Garden on Tuesday against sixth-ranked Villanova, either.
“He’s working through a very challenging situation with his family, some personal issues there,” Lavin said on Fox Sports 1’s Inside the Big East, filmed Sunday afternoon. “We’ll have a better sense of things [later]. We want him back and expect him to be back with us, but we also want to respect the family as they go through a difficult time here.
“It’s all about maturity, it’s all about process, trying to bring forth a young person’s full potential.”
Multiple sources told The Post repeated disciplinary issues contributed to Jordan’s leave of absence, though Lavin declined to say whether there have been issues with Jordan this year, citing the previously released statement. Jordan was suspended one game last year by Lavin for a violation of team rules.
It is believed the mega-talented Jordan has been planning to attempt to make the jump to the NBA this spring, although his name doesn’t appear on many mock drafts. He was a Big East preseason second-team selection.
Jordan has yet to speak to the media because Lavin believes it’s not in Jordan’s best interests. Jordan has yet to find consistency either, averaging 14 points per game but also 3.3 turnovers and just 2.9 assists. Lavin brought him off the bench nine games ago after Jordan committed 16 turnovers over two games in the NIT Tip-Off Classic, and Jordan has struggled as the team’s sixth man.