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TRY IT NOWPROVIDENCE, R.I. – RJ Luis Jr.s’ fantastic junior season ended on the bench.
Over the final 4:56 of second-seeded St. John’s disappointing 75-66 loss to No. 10 Arkansas in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, the Big East Player of the Year was off the floor.
Luis had a nightmarish day, shooting just 3-for-17 from the field and missing all three of his 3-point attempts, and coach Rick Pitino opted to go with other guys in crunch time.
Luis finished with just nine points.
The last time he failed to score in double figures was on New Year’s Eve at Creighton, the Red Storm’s last loss at full strength.
“You know he was 3-for-17. You know he was 0-for-3 [from 3], so you’re answering your own ,” the Hall of Fame coach said after being asked about the decision to sit Luis. “I’m not going to knock one of my players.”
A few possessions before he came out of the game for good, the 6-foot-7 Luis forced a shot in traffic that failed to draw iron.
St. John’s had the chance to pull even at the time.
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On the following possession, Luis hit a pair of free throws. But then he came out, and never returned, as Arkansas pulled away.
“I let my teammates down,” an emotional Luis said about being on the bench as the season sadly ended. “I should’ve been more of a leader. That’s on me.”
RJ Luis Jr. on the bench during St. John’s loss. Charles Wenzelberg/New York PostHe later added: “Of course, everybody wants to play. For me to not be able to be on the court for the last couple of minutes to help my team win hurt me.”
Luis finished with just nine points.
The last time he failed to score in double figures was on New Year’s Eve at Creighton, the Red Storm’s most recent loss at full strength.
RJ Luis Jr. finished with just nine points in the loss. Charles Wenzelberg/New York PostThe Miami native enjoyed an incredible season.
He was the first Johnnie to be named Big East Player of the Year since Walter Berry in 1986, and he was the Big East Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.
Luis shined in the NCAA Tournament opener, scoring 22 points and hitting five 3-pointers in a rout of No. 15 Omaha.
RJ Luis Jr. struggled on Saturday. Charles Wenzelberg/New York PostBut he couldn’t find it on Saturday.
“It feels like we didn’t do anything, really,” he said. “It sucks to lose the way we lost, the way we went out.”
Luis, who started his college career at UMass, could return for a third season at St. John’s and his senior year. That decision will come in the future. The tentative plan is for him to test the NBA draft waters. But on Saturday, all he could think of was this painful ending.
“It sucks. You can’t win them all, but we definitely wanted to continue a little bit longer,” Luis said. “Nobody likes to lose. Just thankful to my teammates and the coaching staff for an amazing year. I think we accomplished a lot.”
