RJ Luis will learn his fate if he is one of the six players being considered for the Big East Player of the Year on Sunday afternoon, but the St. John’s basketball wing made his final statement for the award on Saturday afternoon.
Luis led the Red Storm in the second half of its overtime victory against Marquette, scoring 28 points with 11 rebounds in the 86-84 triumph after only having four points at halftime.
The junior wing made the game tying layup in the final seconds of regulation as well as scoring seven consecutive points in overtime including a 3-pointer with 1:10 left to give St. John’s the lead after Marquette had banked in a 3-pointer to go ahead on the previous possession.
It was the latest effort in what has been a sensational season for Luis, one that should give St. John’s its first Big East Player of the Year since Walter Berry in 1985-86.
“It would be a blessing to receive the award,” Luis said on Saturday afternoon in Milwaukee.
“It would be an honor. What I did from last year to this year, my transition from my surgery and everything like that, it’s a pretty awesome story.”
He’s now averaging 18.1 points per game on 44.6-percent shooting from the field and helped the Red Storm clinch its first Big East regular season championship since 1985.
“Just to win the regular season championship and have the season we are doing, to do it with these group of guys it feels really great,” he continued.
“To be coached under Coach [Pitino]…we’re going to go back and fix those little mistakes and we’re going to get ready for the Big East Tournament because that’s what we want to win too.”
The conference will announce its All-Big East teams on Sunday, March 9 at 1:00 p.m. ET and its Player of the Year will be unveiled at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, March 12 prior to the start of the Big East Tournament.