St. John's star Luis staying in NBA draft

St. John's star RJ Luis Jr. is "definitely remaining" in the NBA draft, his father told The Field of 68's Jeff Goodman.

All players who previously declared for the draft had until Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. ET to remove their names and maintain their college eligibility.

"There will be no change of heart," Luis' father told Goodman. "RJ's excited about the future. He's appreciative of St. John's, Coach Pitino, and the fans. He wants to leave college as Johnnie."

Luis had a breakout junior campaign as he led the Red Storm back to prominence. The 6-foot-7 guard averaged 18.2 points, 7.2 boards, 2.0 assists, and 1.4 steals across 35 appearances last season. He earned numerous accolades for his efforts, including consensus All-American second-team honors and Big East Player of the Year.

However, Luis ended his college career on a sour note, scoring nine points on 3-of-17 shooting in St. John's season-ending loss to Arkansas in the Round of 32. Red Storm head coach Rick Pitino benched Luis for the final 4:56 in a two-point game.

Luis declared for the draft and entered the NCAA transfer portal a week after St. John's season ended, but maintained his college eligibility until Wednesday's decision to turn pro.

North Carolina, Kansas, Ole Miss, Villanova, and Georgetown were among the schools that expressed interest in Luis, according to ESPN's Jonathan Givony and Jeff Borzello.

"We understand the situation, we were offered a lot of money to go back to college," Luis' father said. "But we have a plan and we're going to stick with the plan."