Rysheed Jordan takes leave of absence from St. John's

Rysheed Jordan, St. John's second-leading scorer this season, will be taking leave of absence, as announced by St. John's Friday evening. (Photo courtesy of the New York Daily News)

An integral part of St. John's 11-2 start will not be available for the Red Storm in their next contest, with his return date to be determined.

Head coach Steve Lavin announced late Friday evening that Rysheed Jordan, St. John's highly touted sophomore point guard, will be taking an indefinite leave of absence from the Red Storm program, citing personal and family matters in Jordan's native Philadelphia as the central reason behind his hiatus.

"Rysheed will take an indefinite leave of absence from our basketball program," Lavin said in a release issued by St. John's associate director of athletic communications Stephen Dombroski, the spokesman for the Red Storm program, "and will not be with the team as he focuses his attention on personal and family circumstances."

Jordan, whose 14.0 points per game place him second on the team in that category behind his backcourt partner D'Angelo Harrison, is also the sixth-leading scorer in the Big East. Although the release indicates he will not be with the Red Storm in their game against Butler this afternoon at Carnesecca Arena, it does not specify when his return to the floor will take place.

This is not the first instance in which a star guard has taken a leave of absence from a local team this season, as Fordham is dealing with a similar situation involving Jon Severe, who; like Jordan, is also a sophomore. Severe's leave of absence was announced on November 29, before the Rams faced Maryland Eastern Shore later that day. At this moment, the 2013 New York State Mr. Basketball has yet to return to the Fordham lineup.

Additional information on Rysheed Jordan will be posted as it becomes available.