Rick Pitino Had Sweet Message for RJ Luis Following NBA Draft, Transfer Portal Declaration

Pitino and Luis helped the St. John's Red Storm to a Big East title and a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Pitino hugs RJ Luis. | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

It was reported on Saturday morning that St. John's forward RJ Luis Jr. plans to declare for the 2025 NBA draft while also maintaining his college basketball eligibility—and as such is entering the NCAA transfer portal.

The 6'7" star was named the Big East Player of the Year in 2024-25 after logging 18.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game over the course of the season. He was also named the MVP of the Big East tournament after leading the Red Storm to its first conference title since 2000.

Following Luis' declaration, his legendary head coach in Rick Pitino posted a sweet message for the 22-year-old on social media:

"I've said it all season, RJ will make a terrific pro," Pitino wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday. "We all are rooting for him to make it!"

While things were mostly great between the two during their time together in NYC, Pitino benched Luis down the stretch of their 75–66 loss to Arkansas in the second round of the NCAA tournament last Saturday.

"You already know the answer..." the St. John's head coach answered last weekend when asked why he benched his team's star. You're asking leading questions. You already know. Don't ask leading questions. You already know why he didn't play."

Luis finished his final game for the Red Storm just 3-of-17 shooting with nine points. He'll now test the NBA waters before deciding if he wants to return to college basketball.

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