Former St. John’s basketball wing LJ Figueroa officially signs with Oregon

Former St. John’s basketball wing LJ Figueroa has officially signed with the Oregon Ducks following his unexpected transfer from the Red Storm.

The news of LJ Figueroa‘s transfer to Oregon was already official after the former Red Storm star announced his decision to head West and join the Ducks weeks ago, but now it’s officially, official.

Oregon announced the signing of Figueroa to his National Letter of Intent last week as the 6-foot-6 wing is set to join the reigning PAC-12 Regular Season Champions.

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The Lawrence, Massachusetts native joined the Red Storm two seasons ago under former head coach Chris Mullin and remained with the program through the coaching change to Mike Anderson.

However, the All-Big East selection wasn’t completely sold on the hiring of Anderson as Figueroa entered the transfer portal after it was announced that the Red Storm and Mullin were parting ways.

LJ Figueroa ultimately returned to St. John’s and led the team in scoring during his junior season averaging 14.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.9 steals per game while shooting 37.9 percent from the floor and 36.5 percent from 3-point range.

Following the prematurely canceled season because of the coronavirus pandemic, Figueroa declared for the 2020 NBA Draft while keeping all of his options open and maintaining his collegiate eligibility.

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Much to the shock of St. John’s fans, Figueroa truly meant his word when he said he would keep all of his options opened as he announced he would enter the NCAA Transfer Portal.

According to NCAA Transfer Rules and Regulations, Figueroa would be ineligible to play during the 2020-21 season and play his final year of eligibility during the 2021-22 campaign with the Ducks, but the ex-St. John’s standout plans to apply for a hardship waiver that would grant him the ability to play this upcoming season.

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Figueroa plans to use the coronavirus pandemic as one of the driving forces behind his departure from St. John’s in hopes of being granted that waiver as New York was one of the hotspots for the virus from March through May, but the state has since been viewed at as a model for flattening the curve and stopping the spread of COVID-19.