{"id":62943,"date":"2025-05-29T02:49:09","date_gmt":"2025-05-29T02:49:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/62943\/"},"modified":"2025-05-29T02:49:09","modified_gmt":"2025-05-29T02:49:09","slug":"st-johns-star-opts-to-remain-in-nba-draft-we-were-offered-a-lot-of-money-to-go-back-to-college","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/62943\/","title":{"rendered":"St. John\u2019s star opts to remain in NBA Draft: \u2018We were offered a lot of money to go back to college\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

RJ Luis<\/a> has insisted all along that he intended to remain in the NBA Draft.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, he made it official.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere will be no change of heart,\u201d Reggie Luis, RJ\u2019s father, told The Field of 68<\/a>. \u201cRJ\u2019s excited about the future. He\u2019s appreciative of St. John\u2019s, Coach Pitino and the fans. He wants to leave college as a Johnnie.\u201d <\/p>\n

ESPN reported<\/a> North Carolina, Kansas, Ole Miss, Villanova and Georgetown were among the schools interested in the reigning Big East Player of the Year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe understand the situation, we were offered a lot of money to go back to college,\u201d Reggie Luis said. \u201cBut we have a plan and we\u2019re going to stick with the plan.\u201d<\/p>\n

Top-tier players in the portal are commanding $2-3 million<\/a>, with an elite few making north of that.<\/p>\n

The 6-foot-7 Luis hopes to hear his named called during the NBA Draft June 25-26 at Barclays Center.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m fully into the draft right now,\u201d Luis said last month<\/a> before he was given the prestigious Haggerty Award as the Met Player of the Year by the Metropolitan Basketball Writers\u2019 Association (MBWA). <\/p>\n

\u201cThe transfer portal is really just kind of like a backup plan, just weighing my options in case if I don\u2019t like anything that\u2019s going on as far as the draft. But I\u2019m definitely fully focused on the draft right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the Final Four in San Antonio, St. John\u2019s coach Rick Pitino said he believes Luis will shoot up draft boards after workouts.<\/p>\n

\u201cRJ is not thinking at all about going to college,\u201d Pitino said<\/a>. \u201cOur goal from day one this year was for him to go to NBA. He\u2019ll go to workouts, and he\u2019ll move just like Donovan [Mitchell] did, and just like the other guys, he\u2019ll move up the ladder. He\u2019ll go from the second round, I think, into the late first round.\u201d<\/p>\n

Luis has been working out in his hometown of Miami.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m back home working out with [Miami-based skills trainer] Ronnie Taylor and my strength and conditioning coaches, so we\u2019ve been getting some good work in just trying to work on my body because at the next level guys are a lot stronger, a lot bigger,\u201d Luis said. \u201cSo just really trying to be physically prepared, and also working out basketball twice a day, just trying to get my jump shot right from the three-point line, which is a big aspect of the NBA game today.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said he\u2019d love to get a first-round guarantee.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, of course, I feel like everybody\u2019s dream is to go in the first round,\u201d Luis said.<\/p>\n

As for how his career ended at St. John\u2019s, Luis said he\u2019s put that in the past. Pitino did not play him over the final five minutes of the Arkansas game on a night when Luis shot 3-of-17 and struggled defensively.<\/p>\n

In a recent interview with ESPN\u2019s Stephen A. Smith<\/a>, Luis said he was \u201churt\u201d and that ” I think (Pitino) could…have did a better job… picking my head up.”<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m kind of past that,\u201d Luis said Thursday. \u201cNow, obviously, I\u2019m focused on the draft process. You can only control what you can control. I feel like everything is in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n

St. John\u2019s long ago moved on from Luis and added the nation\u2019s No. 1 portal class with Ian Jackson<\/a> (UNC), Oziyah Sellers<\/a> (Stanford), Dillon Mitchell<\/a> (Cincinnati), Bryce Hopkins<\/a> (Providence), Joson Sanon<\/a> (Arizona State), Dylan Darling<\/a> (Idaho State) and Handje Tamba<\/a>. Austrian wing Imran Suljanovic<\/a> also joins as a freshman.<\/p>\n

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription.<\/p>\n

Adam Zagoria is a freelance reporter and Basketball Insider for NJ Advance Media. You may follow him on Twitter @AdamZagoria <\/a>and check out his Website at ZAGSBLOG.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n