Coming off a disappointing final game in a St. John's uniform, where he shot 3-17 and was benched in the closing minutes of an upset loss to Arkansas, Big East Player of the Year RJ Luis has entered the transfer portal while declaring for the 2025 NBA draft.
Luis is coming off an outstanding season where he averaged 18.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.6 steals while earning All-American honors as a junior in Rick Pitino's system.
Luis should get plenty of attention from NBA scouts, as well as the highest profile programs in college basketball, but the Miami native needs to be a priority for new Hurricanes head coach Jai Lucas.
NEWS: St. John's wing RJ Luis, the Big East Player of the Year, is entering the transfer portal and the 2025 NBA Draft, per @DraftExpress.
Averaged 18.2 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 2.0 APG and 1.6 SPG this season. pic.twitter.com/IImN2biNJC
— Travis Branham (@TravisBranham_) March 29, 2025
Luis began his career at UMass, where he averaged 11.5 points and 4.6 rebounds in 27 games. He then ended up at St. John's, averaging 10.9 points in 23 games as a sophomore in Pitino's first year with the Red Storm.
That led to his breakout junior season, where he finished fourth in the Big East in scoring, fifth in rebounds, and third in free throws made.
Coach Lucas has a lot of work to do to rebuild the roster after losing six players in the portal, including five-star freshman guard Jalil Bethea as well as Jalen Blackmon, Austin Swartz, and Paul Djobet.
For Lucas, making a huge splash early in the transfer portal season will signal to the fanbase, and the thousands of other players in the portal, that this team is back in business after two incredibly disappointing seasons to end the historic tenure of Jim Larranaga.
Related: Jai Lucas Attempts to Keep Four-Star Guard Jalil Bethea at Miami
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This story was originally published March 30, 2025 at 4:25 PM.