"The Prince of North Philly" and freshman point guard Rysheed Jordan will return home in a big game for St. John's as they look for a resume win against #9/11 Villanova Wildcats at the Wells Fargo Center.
St. John's has won nine of their last ten games and Jordan has been huge big reason for the streak. Jordan, who was Top 25 recruit coming out of Vaux High School showed some signs early in the college season of why he was ranked so high. Early he seemed to be pressing and looked to be forcing the issue a little bit.
However, against Syracuse at Madison Square Garden, he seemed to come out of his shell and played an all-around great game (13 points, 6 rebounds, strong defense against star freshman Tyler Ennis) that almost led to the upset.
Ever since, he has continued to develop and get better for St. John's. What has noticeably stood out during this streak as been Jordan's shooting ability. He has been a lot more confident in taking jump shots, along with finding ways to influence the game with penetration and passing, defense, and even rebounding.
Since his scoreless game against the Providence Friars, he has scored just under 11 points per game and just under 4 assists per contest, powering the team with his emergence.
Jordan wasn't available to speak to the media on Friday (shocker) but he did make an appearance in the media room to listen to his teammates talk about his homecoming, where up to 40 friends and family will be on hand to cheer him on with the shorthanded St. John's team.
"We expect him to have a big game," JaKarr Sampson said "No pressure on him. Just go out there and do his thing, facilitate, make open shots, create for others and play his game. Nothing different," sophomore Jakarr Sampson said as Jordan looked on with a broad smile.
Junior combo guard Phil Greene IV added insight into the mind of Jordan as well, "He can't wait. He said it's been a long time since he played in his hometown, so he just wants to go out and give it his all. He just wants to win."
This game will have plenty of emotions. Between Rysheed returning home, St. John's looking for revenge on Villanova, and St. John's tournament dreams this should be a fun contest.