Rysheed Jordan, the enigmatic one-time St. John’s point guard who left the program amid academic concerns, remains uncertain about his immediate future.
Jordan is still weighing his options, debating between entering the NBA’s D-League and playing professionally overseas, he told a Philadelphia website, CityofBasketballLove.com. His AAU coach and advisor, Kamal Yard, said Jordan has yet to sign with an agent, but the plan is for him to make a decision on his future in the next few weeks.
“He’s pretty upbeat, he’s in the gym every day working out,” Yard said. “We’ll see what happens.”
In his first comments since leaving St. John’s, Jordan revealed he never took his finals as he debated entering the 2015 NBA Draft, and by the time he decided to return to St. John’s under new coach Chris Mullin, his academic situation was too far gone for him to be eligible for the first semester of the coming season.
“I was going to go into the ‘15 Draft, but it got too late,” Jordan said. “I was iffy on if I was going back, and it came too late, and I didn’t go to take my finals.”
Jordan said when former St. John’s coach Steve Lavin was let go, “I figured I was going to leave.” However, three weeks after Mullin was hired, Jordan decided to return. But it would’ve taken a lot of catching up for him to be eligible, so he instead decided to pursue professional opportunities. However, what those opportunities are remain to be seen.
“I would’ve preferred he stayed at St. John’s, but we’re not in his shoes,” Yard said. “For him, he’s trying to do the best thing he can for his family. When you have a need for right now, you can understand why people make decisions like this instead of waiting.”
Jordan, the oldest of seven siblings, entered St. John’s hailed as the program’s future, a future NBA player ranked in the top 20 of his class. He never lived up to the hype, partly due to off-the-court issues. He also was inconsistent on the court, not developing as some predicted under the previous coaching staff and given leeway other players were not afforded by Lavin.
Two loved ones died during his freshman year. He was also suspended a game as a freshman for violating team rules.
He missed a game this past season during a three-day leave of absence from the team, and he was disciplined separately by Lavin for a homophobic tweet. But he also showed glimpses of his immense talent, averaging 14.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists in helping St. John’s reach the NCAA Tournament.
“The good and bad, it was great up there,” Jordan said. “If I could do it all over again, I would do it, even though it wasn’t perfect.”