A new report has confirmed St. John’s fears that top scorer RJ Luis Jr. will be playing elsewhere next season.
Despite being a top team in the nation late in the season and winning the Big East, St. John’s flopped against Arkansas in Round 2 of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. While it was a disappointing result for fans of the program, this was a breakthrough season for the Johnies.
St. John’s quickly land elite talent to bolster Final Four hopes for next season
Year two under legendary head coach Rick Pitino was a huge step forward for the program. They won 31 games (11 more than last season) and the Big East tournament for the first time in 25 years. Unfortunately, key rotations players Kadary Richmond, Deivon Smith, and Aaron Scott have finished their college basketball eligibility. Furthermore, there has been speculation that top scorer RJ Luis Jr. could depart this spring to enter the NBA Draft.
Well, those fears were confirmed on Saturday. “St. John’s RJ Luis will declare for the NBA draft while maintaining his college eligibility, and enter the NCAA transfer portal,” his agent, Sam Permut of Roc Nation, told ESPN draft expert Jonathan Givony.
St. John’s now has a huge void to fill in their roster for next season. With that in mind, let’s look at four impact players the Red Storm could target soon in the transfer portal.
Ryan Conwell among St. John’s likely college basketball transfer portal targets
Replacing a player who led the team with 18.2 points per game will be a difficult task. However, that is why Xavier star Ryan Conwell is sure to be at the top of the Johnies’ portal wish list. The three-year veteran averaged 16 points and over 40% from the three-point line in the last two seasons. He is the top-ranked wing on The Athletic’s transfer portal rankings.
The top overall guard still available is probably New Mexico’s Donovan Dent. He was one of the best points in the country this season and in the conversation to be an All-American. He is fiery and highly competitive. That, mixed with a scoring punch that led to averaging over 20 PPG in 2024-25, could make him a star in New York.
If St. Johns wanted to get deep in the portal weeds, Kennasaw State star Adrian Wooley would be an interesting option. While he needs to do more work in the weight room, he can fill it up. The Conference USA player shot 51% from the field, 42% from three, and 77% from the line this season.
One last option could be Wyoming star Ogbi Abgim. The senior is a bit of a journeyman. Having played four four schools in five years after three juco seasons. Nevertheless, he may be the best three-point shooter in the portal (44%) and is a handful on the break.