After a slow start in which several prioritized transfer recruits appeared to pass up on St. John’s, newly minted head coach Rick Pitino and staff have been consistent in re-tooling the roster by way of the portal.
On Sunday, St. John’s received a commitment from promising 6-foot-7 UMass transfer and Miami, Fla. native RJ Luis.
A wing with unique positional size and a cerebral offensive game, Luis attracted plenty of high major attention after a freshman season in which he averaged 11.5 points and 4.6 boards under fellow Miami native Frank Martin.
Luis is a three-level scorer with length, a fluid mid range game and a knack for around the rim efficiency.
He manufactures points in a variety of ways, with an adeptness for drawing fouls.
He had five games in which he shot eight free throws or more, including a 31-point game during an 87-79 victory over Duquesne in which he shot 17-for-18 from the foul line.
Luis ultimately chose St. John’s over Texas A & M and Louisville.
He made visits to all three schools. Sold on Pitino’s pedigree and history of player development, Luis is stoked with confidence.
The Red Storm finished with a meager 7-13 in Big East play last season and haven’t won an NCAA tournament game in 23 years, an agonizing drought which Luis hopes to have a hand in thwarting.
This past year’s disappointing season eventually led to the ousting of previous head coach Mike Anderson.
St. John’s decided to refresh the brand with the hiring of the 70-year-old Pitino.
The bouncy Louis averaged 14.4 points and 4.4 boards in Atlantic-10 play.
He’s the most recent addition to a renovated roster which recently secured commitments from Los Angeles area 2023 sharpshooter Brady Dunlap and Oregon State transfer Glenn Taylor Jr.
Luis Jr. played at Columbus High in Miami, but he did not have a lofty ranking, NIL deals, and a vast number of coaches heavily courting him.
He bolstered his stock playing on the UA circuit.
Still, as a relative unknown with some Division-I interest, he had no concrete offers.
Luis wound up playing a post-graduate year at Mt. Zion Prep (MD.), the program at which current New York Knicks forward and Ossining High product Obi Toppin thrived.
St. John’s is fortified by a 6-foot-11 Center in Yonkers native and Stepinac High product Joel Soriano, who is coming off a breakout season in which he averaged 15.2 points and 11.9 rebounds, both career bests.
Soriano piled up 25 double doubles during the 2022-23 campaign.
While they were beat out by Florida for Iona transfer Walter Clayton Jr. and a new Providence staff under Kim English for electrifying 6-foot-4 point guard Garwey Dual, St. John’s has shaped up the roster in quick-hit fashion.
They have a perimeter shooting presence with the aforementioned Dunlap and VMI graduate transfer Sean Conway and UConn transfer Naheim Alleyne, who won a national championship with the Huskies last month.
They have a seasoned point guard in Iona transfer Daniss Jenkins, an all around threat who prospered under Pitino in the Gaels’ NCAA tournament run last year.
Now they add depth at the wing position with Luis Jr.
As was the case with the aforementioned Taylor Jr., the program capitalized on a well courted transfer they had been banking on.
