St. John’s forward RJ Luis Jr., the Big East player of the year and tournament MVP, is reportedly declaring for the 2025 NBA Draft. However, he plans to maintain his college eligibility and also enter the transfer portal, according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.
Luis, 22, averaged 18.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game while shooting 34% on 3-pointers during his junior season. He led St. John’s to a 31-5 overall record and 18-2 mark in the Big East, and the Red Storm were the No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament West region.
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St. John’s won its first-round matchup over No. 15 Omaha before being upset in the second round by No. 10 seed Arkansas, 75-66.
In addition to the Red Storm falling short of expectations with the defeat, the outcome also carried some controversy with Luis being benched by head coach Rick Pitino for the final five minutes of the game. Luis scored only nine points on 3-of-17 shooting (0 for 3 on 3s).
Following the game, Pitino defended keeping Luis on the bench with the game at stake, saying that his star played 30 minutes.
“He played 30 minutes,” Pitino initially responded tersely. “That’s a long time.”
“So he was tired?” Newsday’s Roger Rubin followed up.
“No, [he] played 30 minutes and I went with other people,” Pitino responded testily. “You already know the answers, Roger. You’re asking leading questions. You already know it. Don’t ask leading questions. You already know why he didn’t play.
“You know he was 3-for-17. So you’re answering your own — I’m not going to knock one of my players.”
Luis, 6-foot-7, is ranked No. 57 by Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor on his NBA Draft big board. If he were to return to college, Luis would likely be considered the top player available in the transfer portal.
During his college career, Luis has averaged 14.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.3 steals and 31% 3-point shooting in 85 games. Prior to his two seasons at St. John’s, Luis played one season at UMass, averaging 11.5 points as a freshman.
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