St. John’s star RJ Luis Jr. is declaring for the 2025 NBA Draft and entering the transfer portal, his agent told ESPN. The Big East Player of the Year is expected to make at least $1.5 million in NIL earnings if he opts to return to college basketball, sources told CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander.
Despite helping cut a double-digit lead to two, Luis did not play in the final 4:56 of the Red Storm’s 75-66 loss Arkansas in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. During that stretch, they were outscored 11-4 and missed eight of their final nine shots from the field.
“He played 30 minutes,” St. John’s coach Rick Pitino said bluntly postgame. “That’s a long time.”
Pitino denied that fatigue down the stretch played a factor.
“No,” Pitino said. “He played 30 minutes, and I went with other people. … Don’t ask me leading questions. You already know why he didn’t play.”
Pitino was later asked about Luis telling reporters that he didn’t feel like he played like a leader. In response, the coach singled out Kadary Richmond, Deivon Smith and Aaron Smith — curiously omitting Luis — as players who he appreciated for “giving them every single thing they had.”
If Luis does return to the college game and bypasses the NBA Draft, he is expected to be widely coveted after averaging 18.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and two assists in 35 games for St. John’s. Luis spent the last two years with the Red Strom under Pitino after starting his college career at Massachusetts.
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