It turns out that Rysheed Jordan’s leave of absence only lasted one game.
Coach Steve Lavin announced Monday that the 6-foot-4 guard has returned to practice after a leave of absence due to personal and family matters. Jordan will play Tuesday against No. 8 Villanova at Madison Square Garden.
Jordan was not with the team Saturday for the Big East home opener with Butler in order to be with family in Philadelphia after the passing of his grandmother Roslyn “Bootsie” Walker.
“Rysheed has returned from his home after going through a challenging week,” said Lavin. “He will practice with the team [Monday] and suit up [Tuesday] for our game with Villanova.
“He’s got a good group of people here that care about him. Sometimes the best remedy for a heavy heart is getting back to doing the thing you love and to be with people that care.”
Lavin said Jordan’s return will allow the team to return to its six-man rotation.
“We have a six-man rotation that allowed us to get off to our best start since 1985-86,” he said. “The positive with Rysheed’s return is that we have the pieces back in place that led to our 11-2 start. Naturally, it’s tough anytime we don’t have our full complement of players. We like our rotation as it has caused problems for opponents.”
Senior guard D’Angelo Harrison said Jordan should be motivated to play against the Wildcats since the 6-4 guard is from Philadelphia.
“It’s exciting,” Harrison said. “I’m glad that he is back with us. Villanova is his hometown team, so he’s going to be fired up to play them. We’re just going to come out and play our style of basketball, looking for the win.”.
Jordan ranks sixth in the Big East averaging 14.0 points per game and has scored double-figures in nine of 12 appearances this season. Jordan is second on the team with 2.9 assists per game and ranks fifth in the conference averaging 2.1 steals. Jordan was named to the ig East Weekly Honor Roll on Dec. 15 averaging 16.0 points and shooting 60.0 percent (12-of-20) in two wins, which included a career-high 24 points versus Fordham at Madison Square Garden.
