St. John’s basketball sophomore RJ Luis sidelined with another injury
St. John’s basketball forward RJ Luis will not play against West Virginia.
The anticipated debut of RJ Luis did not last very long for the St. John’s basketball team as the promising sophomore has been ruled out for a minimum of two weeks due to a shin injury.
The program announced the news on Friday afternoon and he will be examined again when the team returns to New York.
Luis had been out of the lineup since October 1 with a broken left hand and returned to action on Saturday night against Holy Cross in which he scored 14 points in 16 minutes on 6-of-12 shooting.
The 6-foot-7 sophomore was a welcome sight for head coach Rick Pitino, who was planning to play the UMass transfer at shooting guard, small forward, and power forward throughout the season.
UPDATE: Red Storm sophomore RJ Luis Jr. will miss a minimum of two weeks to allow shins to heal. Projected late December return to the lineup.
— St. John's Men’s Basketball (@StJohnsBBall) December 1, 2023
Pitino, as of Wednesday morning prior to the team’s practice, was expecting RJ Luis to start against the Mountaineers after Chris Ledlum missed two practices this week with a stomach virus that saw him lose nine pounds due to an inability to eat.
ALSO READ: Chris Ledlum illness may limit minutes against West Virginia
Now, Ledlum, who has been anticipated to play despite the illness, could be back in line to start his seventh game for the Johnnies.
The Harvard transfer has participated in practice since Wednesday afternoon.
Timeline for St. John’s basketball forward to return
St. John’s is 3-2 without RJ Luis this season but his absence could put a lot more minutes on the plate of not only Chris Ledlum but sophomore forward Drissa Traore, who did not enter the victory against Holy Cross until the 12-minute mark of the second half.
Following Friday night, Luis will miss games against Sacred Heart, Boston College, and Fordham but the early hope is that he could be close to a return when the Red Storm begin Big East play against Xavier on December 20.
ALSO READ: Rick Pitino, Quinn Slazinski put feelings aside Friday
The Johnnies will travel to No. 4 UConn on December 23 before finishing non-conference play against Hofstra on December 30.
Tipoff between St. John’s and West Virginia is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET (ESPN2) inside the WVU Coliseum.
Next. St. John’s ready for clash of styles against West Virginia. dark