St John’s star junior RJ Luis opened up on how much it hurt being benched by coach Rick Pitino during this year’s March Madness. Luis, who was the Big East player of the year and the MOP of the tournament, was benched in his side’s 75-66 loss to Arkansas in the 2nd round.
The guard shot 3-for-17 and was slammed by many fans on his social media following the game due to his performance, forcing him to delete his Instagram.
RJ Luis Reveals His Feelings on Being Benched
Speaking to Stephen A. Smith, Luis revealed that he believed his head coach, Pitino, could have done a better job in the situation after he was forced to sit out the rest of the game after being benched.
“I mean, I’m just hurt, you know, obviously, like I said, it wasn’t my best performance, but I think (he) could…have did a better job… picking my head up and…just doing a better job…coaching me up, like how he’s done the whole year,” Luis said when speaking to Smith, before reiterating there was no bad blood between him and Pitino.
RJ Luis Jr. reacts to Rick Pitino’s benching decision in an interview with Stephen A.
Smith.RJ also reiterates the NBA being his main focus.
I think he handled this very well.#SJUBB pic.twitter.com/0ch2K6CkAv
— Johnnies Highlights (@JohnniesTape) April 7, 2025
“And I mean, like I said, coach Pitino made a decision which he thought was best for the team. And I have to respect that.” The St John’s Guard responded when questioned.
Luis has also entered the transfer portal and declared for the NBA Draft, but when questioned, he revealed that this decision had nothing do with Rick Pitino.
“That’s not the reason…I feel like my stock won’t be any higher than it is. And, I mean, thanks to my coaches and my teammates, they’ve been able to put me in a position to take the next step in my journey, and obviously, that’s to play in the NBA. So that’s really my decision is, to go on and start the draft process and to see what God has in store for me for at the next level.” Luis revealed.
Rick Pinto Says Luis Transfer Would Break the Bank
Speaking to NJ.com, coach Pitino defended his decision to bench one of his star players in his team’s loss to Arkansas but reiterated that RJ Luis is still one of the most talented players he’s coached in his career.
“You know, look, I was doing what was best for the team to win. As a player, everybody’s gone through those nights. It was affecting his entire game… It was nothing that I don’t believe RJ is great. Without RJ, we could not have had a magical season,” Pitino pointed out.
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“If RJ ever went in the portal, he’d break the bank as the highest-paid player ever to get paid in the collegiate ranks, at least for this year, but RJ is not thinking at all about going to college.” Luis’s head coach revealed.
The St John’s Guard is set to enter this year’s NBA Draft following his Junior season. Coach Pitino has gone on record as saying he believes his player will go to workouts and move up the ranks, similar to Donovan Mitchell.
Pitino continued on to say RJ Luis will go in the late first round or the start of the second, with the NBA Draft set to take place in New York on June 25.
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