08/24/26 10:37:00
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08/24 22:01 CDT RJ Luis Jr. cleared by judge to play for LSU after spending
time with 2 NBA teams
RJ Luis Jr. cleared by judge to play for LSU after spending time with 2 NBA
teams
By BRETT MARTEL
AP Sports Writer
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) --- RJ Luis Jr., a former St. John's standout who
recently signed with LSU after spending time with two NBA clubs, was cleared by
a court Monday evening to start practicing and potentially play for the Tigers
this season.
Luis, who briefly was under contract with the Utah Jazz and Boston Celtics but
never played in an NBA game, hugged LSU coach Will Wade after the ruling by
East Baton Rouge Parish District Court judge Ronald R. Johnson.
After a five-hour hearing, Johnson granted the player's request for a
preliminary injunction against the NCAA, which had argued Luis was unlikely to
win reinstatement after leaving college to turn pro in 2025.
"This is precedent. It's monumental," said Baton Rouge-based attorney Tony
Clayton, who represented Luis along with Elliot Abrams of Raleigh, North
Carolina. "This allows him to go practice, go play and we'll let the legal
process work itself out."
The timeline for that process was not immediately clear.
"I don't know, but there's a lot of discovery that Elliot and I have to
obtain," Clayton said. "We've got a lot of questions."
Luis' attorneys noted that the NCAA had granted exceptions allowing numerous
players from overseas professional leagues to join college basketball programs,
and argued that American players must be afforded the same opportunity.
They stressed that Luis not only had never played in an NBA game, but also had
not played for the Celtics' G League affiliate because of an injury, and had
far less of a professional basketball resume than numerous college players
who'd been recruited from abroad.
NCAA attorney Taylor Askew argued that Luis' situation was not comparable to
those who played for the developmental squads of pro organizations overseas
because Luis chose to leave college for the NBA.
Askew noted that the only player in a similar situation to Luis was Alabama's
Charles Bediako, who won a temporary retraining order allowing him to play five
games for Alabama last season before an Alabama judge ultimately sided with
NCAA assertions that he was ineligible.
"I understand Mr. Luis is disappointed that he was not drafted and did not play
in the NBA as much as he would have liked," Askew said. "Actions have
consequences. Decisions have outcomes and they're not always the right ones or
the ones that you want."
As he made his ruling, Johnson said, "In the court's mind, (Luis) did not
actually play professional basketball," and that whether Luis was properly
advised of his options at the time he left college "lingers heavily before this
court."
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