Former Boston Celtics Forward to Head Back to College as Wild Times Continue

Former St. John's standout - and former Boston Celtics preseason player - RJ Luis is headed back to college as part of the new "wild, wild West" of collegiate athletics. He will play for LSU.

As noted by Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports, Luis was granted a preliminary injunction to give himself another year of eligibility.

Each of these cases are complex in their own individual right, so let's break this down bit by bit.

Luis, a 6-foot-7 forward from Miami, spent three years in college. A member of the high school graduating class of 2022, Luis played his first year at Massachusetts and then two years at St. John's. For his career, he averaged 14.1 ppg, but he averaged 18.2 at St. John's in his junior year.

For that, he was the Big East Player of the Year and a Second-Team All-American.

However, he went undrafted in the 2025 draft.

Luis signed with the Utah Jazz last summer and then was dealt to Boston before being waived in October of 2025. He then signed on with the Maine Red Claws, the G-League affiliate of the Celtics. He did not play any games in Maine. He did play in the Celtics preseason. He scored six total points.

Here are all 6 points former St. John’s star RJ Luis scored in the NBA preseason in October 2025.

The 6-7 wing is reportedly signed to play for coach Will Wade at LSU, 219 days after his last appearance — a preseason game vs. the Cavaliers.

Luis never played a G-League game https://t.co/iyTRJGnUvdpic.twitter.com/TfI4z6MHVI

The NCAA adopted a new rule this summer that gives athletes five years to play seasons, with a few exceptions.

As a result, there are no more redshirt years and no more medical redshirts. If a player sits out a year, for any reason, they will just have four years of eligibility as they did before.

This rule also applies to student-athletes that were freshman through juniors during the last academic year, meaning current college players are getting an extra season tacked on to their careers.

In Luis's case, he came in with the high school Class of 2022. He played three seasons in three years, and his fourth year was spent trying to be a professional. However, this injunction that is allowing him to play is essentially saying that fourth year is basically just a year off.

He now his fifth year to complete his fourth season. It doesn't feel right considering he's already been in the pro ranks, but such is the state of college basketball in 2026.

The Celtics are about one month away from the start of NBA training camp. The C's will open up the NBA preseason slate on Oct. 8 against the Cleveland Cavaliers.