The Johnnies’ star swingman was named one of the five nominees for the award for best small forward in the country on Wednesday
R.J. Luis is on the cusp of winning major hardware. On Wednesday afternoon, the Basketball Hall of Fame announced that Luis was one of the five finalists for the 2025 Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year award.
Luis was named alongside Auburn’s Chad Baker-Mazara, Kentucky’s Jaxon Robinson, and freshman sensations Cooper Flagg of Duke and Ace Bailey of Rutgers as nominees for the nation’s top small forward. Fan voting will be held on the Naismith Hall of Fame website starting on Friday, March 7 at hoophall.com, and the winner will be announced ahead of this April’s Final Four.
One year removed from struggling to practice consistently due to shin splints, Luis is healthy and is enjoying a breakout junior year. The Miami native is leading the Red Storm in scoring with 17.8 points per game (fourth-best in the Big East) and is second on the team with 6.9 rebounds per game (seventh-best in the Big East).
The 6-foot-7 wing has also posted ten 20-point performances this season, including a team-high 21-point outing to help St. John’s beat Seton Hall and clinch their first outright regular season title in 40 years last Saturday.
Luis and the sixth-ranked Red Storm wrap up their Big East regular season on Saturday, March 8, versus No. 20 Marquette in Milwaukee (noon, FOX).