LSU has agreed to a deal with 2025 Big East Player of the Year RJ Luis Jr., according to a report from Matt Zenitz and Chris Hummer of 247Sports.
Luis, who was a consensus Second-Team All-American for St. John’s two seasons ago, entered the 2025 NBA draft and was not selected. He signed a two-way deal with the Utah Jazz and was traded to the Boston Celtics later that summer in exchange for Georges Niang and two future second-round picks. Boston waived Luis and then signed him to an Exhibit 10 contract that allowed him to join the Maine Celtics—the team’s G League affiliate. After suffering a groin injury that required surgery, Luis was waived again.
Through all of his stops since going undrafted, Luis has not appeared in any NBA or G League regular-season games, though he did appear in three preseason games with the Celtics.
This will almost assuredly head to the courts, so Luis playing for LSU next season is far from a done deal
Luis’s potential return to college basketball closely mirrors that of former Alabama center Charles Bediako. Bediako signed multiple two-way contracts in the NBA before successfully returning to college basketball midway through this season for the Crimson Tide. Bediako played in five games, averaging 10.0 points and 4.6 rebounds, but was eventually ruled ineligible after his request for an injunction against the NCAA was denied by Alabama judge Daniel Pruet. Like Bediako was at the time of his return, Luis is still within his five-year eligibility clock when attempting to return to college basketball.
The basis of the denied request for an injunction was that Bediako signed multiple NBA contracts and that he no longer held amateur status. If Luis’s eligibility case heads to court—which is to be expected—a key difference between his situation and Bediako’s is that Luis never appeared in any professional games outside of the preseason. Bediako had participated in 82 G League games before attempting to return to Alabama. Whether or not that matters will be up to the courts to decide.
The NCAA distributed guidance obtained by Sports Illustrated last week that once again stated that student-athletes that “entered an agreement with, competed on, or received compensation from” an NBA team would not have their eligibility reinstated.
If Luis plays next season, he will once again be one of the top players in college basketball
Luis was one of the best players in the country two seasons ago for St. John’s, when he averaged career-highs in nearly every key statistical category. Luis averaged 18.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.4 steals on 43.9% shooting from the floor, which included a 33.6% mark from three. If he is ruled eligible, he will have one season remaining, where he could be an impact player in the SEC under Will Wade in the first year of his second-stint with the Tigers.
