It's a disappointing outcome, but I understand it. Luis should be about maximizing his worth, and St. John's needs to make sure that they are in a position to exhaust all options toward putting together the best roster that they possibly can. Luis was one of my favorite players to watch, his mid range game was lethal, he was an underrated rebounder, and was deceptively long defensively. By all accounts, he is a really good kid. I am rooting for his success, no matter where this may be. Nothing involved with this should result in anyone minimizing his contributions to St. John's, nor throwing shade at him for maximizing his earning capability.
As for the Arkansas game, he had a far away look in his eyes for the entirety of the game, and never seemed to be in the flow of the game. It happens to everyone at some point. I had no problem with Pitino pulling him, as he is armed with far more information than any of us are in terms of what was going on on the floor, what was said to Luis, what was said in return, etc. If anyone thinks that Pitino tanked a game for a teaching moment in the NCAA Tournament, I would recommend taking a drug test. Pitino wanted to win that game more than any of us did - he didn't think that the way that Luis was performing was going to give him the best chance of doing that. I trust in the coach. Hell, if Pat Riley did this back in 1994 with John Starks, the NBA title drought for the Knicks may be 31 years instead of 52.
I wish R.J. Luis nothing but the best, and I hope he realizes all of the success that he is capable of and deserving of. He was a terrific representative of the university, and is a fine young man. Thank you for an amazing season that we will not forget. If there is a path back to St. John's, I hope he finds it, but I am not counting on it.
