Report: UMass Transfer R.J. Luis to Visit Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville men's basketball program is continuing to try and find another guard through the transfer portal, and one of their targets will soon be on campus.

Former UMass guard R.J. Luis is set to visit the Cardinals later this week on Apr. 19-20, according to On3's Joe Tipton. He opted to enter the transfer portal earlier this month after one season with the Minutemen, and is coming off of a visit to Texas A&M this past weekend.

The 6-foot-7, 196-pound shooting guard was an impact player for UMass in his true freshman campaign. Playing in 27 games with 10 starts, Luis averaged 11.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, while also shooting 45.5 percent from the field and 34.8 percent on three-point attempts. He was named to the Atlantic-10 All-Rookie Team for his efforts.

This came in spite of him not being a highly-regarded recruit coming out of high school. The Miami (Fla.) Mt. Zion Prep product ranked as just the No. 233 player in the Class of 2022 according to the 247Sports Composite.

Louisville has been busy this offseason when it comes to reaching out to transfer portal targets, especially among those in the backcourt. With three scholarships still open for the 2023-24 season, Illinois transfer Skyy Clark and JUCO prospect Koron Davis are the only true guards currently on Louisville's roster.

The Cardinals went just 4-28 this past season in their first year under head coach Kenny Payne, and roster management has been in full swing since the end of their season. Louisville has seen seven players enter the transfer portal, including leading scorer El Ellis. Only Mike James, J.J. Traynor, Brandon Huntley-Hatfield and Emmanuel Okorafor are returning.

Conversely, Payne and his staff have been hard at work attempting to bring in fresh talent for next season. On top of Clark and Davis, they are set to bring in five-star 2023 center Dennis Evans, five-star 2023 reclass guard/forward Trentyn Flowers, and four-star wings Kaleb Glenn and Curtis Williams Jr.

Louisville's five-man recruiting 2023 class, which is the first full cycle for Payne, ranks as the No. 5 class in the nation according to 247Sports. Despite having just one transfer commitment in Clark, their transfer class comes in at No. 26 in the nation also by 247Sports.

(Photo of R.J. Luis via UMass Athletics)

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