Two weeks ago, it felt impossible to envision a day like this coming for the St. John’s basketball team.
RJ Luis, the Most Outstanding Player of the Big East Tournament, sat on top of the rim at Madison Square Garden with the cut down net around his neck as everyone celebrated the Red Storm’s first Big East Championship since 2000.
Three days prior he was named the Big East Player of the Year and shortly after he sat at his locker finishing his postgame interviews after the Johnnies defeated Marquette in the semifinals as Walter Berry, the last St. John’s player to win the conference’s top individual award, waited to meet him.
The two had never met but Luis was looking forward to getting to know him as he joined a rare club in program history. He also wanted to meet other program legends like Chris Mullin.
Now, his time with the Red Storm is over.
Luis is entering the NBA Draft and the transfer portal. His hope is to become an NBA player this offseason but if he decides to return to college, it won’t be in Queens.
The change in tone of how the UMass transfer’s time with St. John’s ended was dramatic.
A superstar in New York, he was benched for the final five minutes of St. John’s loss to Arkansas in the Round of 32 after shooting 3-for-17. Standout point guard Kadary Richmond already fouled out and the Red Storm were begging for offensive production out of anybody, but Rick Pitino had seen enough from Luis.
The chatter around the decision was loud, and it became the biggest story from the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament with the lack of upsets. Luis deleted his Instagram after the hate he received following his poor performance.
St. John’s is the only No. 2 seed not to make the Elite 8 this season.
He averaged 18.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.4 steals per game on 43.9-percent shooting from the floor and 33.6-percent from 3-point range. His name isn’t high on many draft boards.
In fact, his Red Storm teammate Zuby Ejiofor – who is returning to St. John’s for his senior season – is ranked higher on ESPN’s Big Board at No. 64 while Luis is No. 72.
His age plays a major role in trying to make it to the association, already at 22 years old, but could get a major payday from another program if he wants to return to the college ranks for one more season – listed as one of the top current transfers in the portal.
The Red Storm will be very active in trying to fill the void that RJ Luis is leaving, already landing a commitment from former 5-star Arizona State guard Joson Sanon and will be hosting Providence transfer Bryce Hopkins this weekend on a visit.
Luis is the first Johnnie to make his intentions known he is entering the transfer portal.
Still, even with the ever-changing free agency style of college basketball this stings for St. John’s fans. The player who helped deliver on Rick Pitino’s promise is gone and could be playing for a new school this fall, and the only thing that could soften the blow is if he does make the leap to the NBA and the last college uniform he wears is the Red Storm’s.