RJ Luis didn't play the final five minutes of St. John's season-ending 75–66 loss to the No. 10 seed Arkansas Razorbacks back in the round of 32. And now he might not wear a St. John's jersey again.
According to ESPN's Jonathan Givony, Luis plans to declare for the 2025 NBA draft while maintaining his college eligibility and entering the NCAA transfer portal.
Luis was the Big East Player of the Year in 2024-25, logging 18.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. He was also named the MVP of the Big East tournament, leading St. John's to its first conference title since 2000.
However, Luis struggled against the Razorbacks, scoring just nine points on 3-of-17 shooting—his worst performance from the field all year. St. John's coach Richard Pitino subbed out Luis with 4:56 to play and the Red Storm trailing by two points, 64–62.
The Red Storm went on to get outscored 11–4 the rest of the way.
After the game, Pitino defended his decision to bench Luis.
"You already know the answer ... you're asking leading questions," Pitino told a reporter when asked why he didn't play Luis in the final stretch. "You already know. Don't ask leading questions. You already know why he didn't play.
"You know he was 3-for-17. You know he was 0-for-3 [from three-point range]. So, you're answering our own [question]," he said. "I'm not going to knock one of my players."
Luis now will test the NBA draft waters to see how teams evaluate his skill set. If he returns to college and transfers from St. John's, it's only natural to wonder if Pitino benching Luis with the season on the line was the final straw.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as RJ Luis to Enter Transfer Portal After Not Closing Out St. John's Season-Ending Loss.
