BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — RJ Luis’ status with LSU men’s basketball is resolved.
LSU coach Will Wade said Luis, a former St. John’s star who signed an NBA contract in 2025, will not play at the school.
“We’re going to follow all the SEC protocols with him,” Wade said on a virtual call during SEC media day on Tuesday. “I think it’s been pretty clear what the SEC protocols are on all that. He didn’t travel with us to McNeese, and he hasn’t been rostered.”
LSU beat McNeese State 63-60 on Thursday in an exhibition at Townsley Law Arena.
CBS Sports reported on Aug. 26 that the SEC finalized extensive punishments to penalize a program if it signs a player who signed a pro contract (as well as not formally withdrawing from the draft) in professional leagues such as the NBA, WNBA and NFL.
While awaiting word on multiple players’ eligibility, Wade said Sept. 23 that he’s had 15 players practicing with the team since Sept. 2. That included Luis, who was granted a preliminary injunction on Aug. 24 that allowed him to play college basketball.
One day later, SEC presidents, chancellors and athletic directors voted to set rules to prevent member schools from rostering athletes who fit any of these three criteria:
Previously declared for the NFL, NBA or WNBA draft, and did not “appropriately withdraw” from those drafts.
Signed a contract with an NFL or other professional league, NBA or G League, or WNBA or affiliated team.
Been listed on a roster by any of those professional teams.
After going undrafted in the 2025 NBA Draft, Luis signed a two-way contract with the Utah Jazz in June 2025 before being traded to the Boston Celtics two months later. Luis was waived by the Celtics in October 2025 before signing a deal with its NBA G League affiliate, the Maine Celtics. He was waived by the G League team before the start of the season because of an injury.
Luis averaged 18.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game at St. John’s during the 2024-25 season, winning Big East Player of the Year honors. He entered the transfer portal but didn’t commit to a new school, deciding to stay in the draft in 2025.
Other players’ eligibility
Since Wade couldn’t fly to media day because of fog in the Baton Rouge area, he spoke virtually to the broadcasters on the SEC Network and to reporters on a separate teleconference call.
In both interviews, he said he believes his other players will be cleared by the NCAA for this season.
“We have another scrimmage tomorrow (Wednesday), and we anticipate having a few more guys tomorrow than we had at McNeese,” Wade said on the SEC Network. “We have a pretty good idea of who’s (getting) eligible.”
Wade said the media make “a massive deal” about the state of the LSU roster, but any of the players would say things are operating normally.
“We don’t worry about what anybody else is saying or what anybody else really thinks,” he said. “We’re pretty secure in who we are and pretty secure in what we’re doing”.
Wade was asked why he’s confident that a couple of his players will receive favorable court rulings in their fifth-year eligibility cases despite the NCAA “winning” recently in court.
A Kentucky eligibility lawsuit saw the Kentucky Court of Appeals dissolve the injunction that permitted some Class of 2022 athletes to play.
“I just feel good about some of the information we have on the ground on some things,” he said. “I would caution that some things are painted as wins and really aren’t wins, and people run with that. I feel good about my information, and we’ll see if we’re right.”
ULCA transfer guards Skyy Clark and Donovan Dent are the only players on LSU who are challenging the NCAA for a fifth year of eligibility. They are among the more than 70 plaintiffs who gained eligibility for a fifth season through a temporary restraining order in a lawsuit filed in California against the NCAA.
What will determine their eligibility going into the regular season is a court hearing for a preliminary injunction on Oct. 20. Dent, however, was among the players who participated in the McNeese exhibition.
The four notable players who didn’t play but were present in the McNeese exhibition were 22‑year‑old Italian‑Senegalese wing Saliou Niang, 23‑year‑old French center Brice Dessert, 24‑year‑old Israeli center Gilad Levy and Clark.
Wade said he’ll accept responsibility for whatever outcome happens this season.
“I’m the one who made the decision to do this,” he said. “If it doesn’t work, you can pin it right on me. But we feel very confident about the group, and we feel very confident about the guys that we have. With our full roster, we have a puncher’s chance in most games.”
LSU opens the regular season against LSU New Orleans on Nov. 3 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.