St. John’s basketball guard David Caraher takes leave of absence

St. John’s basketball guard David Caraher has taken a leave of absence from the program.

Moments prior to St. John’s basketball matchup against Xavier, the team announced that redshirt junior guard David Caraher has taken a leave of absence from the program.

Caraher returned home to Chapel Hill, North Carolina for the team’s holiday break and made the decision to remain in the Tar Heel state as the team returned to Queens.

The reasoning behind the leave of absence is COVID-19 related and David Caraher will remain with his family.

It is unclear if he plans on returning to St. John’s this season or if he intends on being a member of the program going forward.

“David [Caraher] has been a great teammate and member of our basketball program, and we have a lot of respect for him as a person. We fully support his decision,” head coach Mike Anderson said in a statement.

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A transfer from Houston Baptist that originally committed to play under former head coach Chris Mullin and his staff, Caraher remained with the program following the hiring of Anderson in Spring 2019.

Caraher averaged 16.2 points per game and shot 36.4-percent from 3-point range prior to joining the program.

In his first season with the Red Storm, the former Southland Conference Freshman of the Year played in 32 games, starting three, and averaged 4.7 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game while shooting 40.3-percent from the field and 25.0-percent from 3-point range.

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Caraher only has seen action in seven of St. John’s ten games this season, averaging 4.6 minutes per game and 0.7 points per game.

The 6-foot-6 wing is 2-of-7 from the field and 1-of-5 from 3-point range this year.

The NCAA is scheduled to pass a one-time transfer rule where a player does not have to sit out for a season, something David Caraher had to do in the 2018-19 season in which he arrived in Queens.