Why G-Leaguer and 2025 Big East Player of the Year RJ Luis signed with Will Wade and LSU

Will Wade has earned the "American Gangster' moniker, but LSU is taking an even more brazen affront to the NCAA's shaky eligibility rules and regulations. The Tigers signed RJ Luis Jr. on Tuesday, per CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz. The same RJ Luis Jr. who earned the 2025 Big East Player of the Year honors under St. John's coach Rick Pitino two seasons ago. The same RJ Luis Jr. who controversially chose to keep his name in the 2025 NBA Draft despite numerous seven-figure deals that were on the table in last spring's transfer portal market.

Luis is not currently eligible to play college basketball.

Luis went undrafted last June and signed a two-way deal with the Utah Jazz before getting traded to the Boston Celtics in August and waived by Brad Stevens. Luis, now 23, spent the last season in the G-League.

"It's more than just the money," an extremely confident Luis told CBS Sports at the 2025 NBA Draft Combine. "Say I go back to college, I get a large amount of money, but then what? I'm going to be a year older. Still going to have to do the process again. It's more about finding the right time to go into this. I think this is my moment."

Now, Luis wants a do-over after a painfully clear miscalculation of his market. Currently, Luis is not eligible, but his representation will file a lawsuit looking for one more year of eligibility, especially with the looming 5-for-5 eligibility model that is expected to be adopted by the NCAA ahead of the 2026-27 season. Luis played one season at UMass, two seasons at St. John's and one season in the G-League. The argument will be centered around how Luis did not play in an NBA game and is still within his five-year window of graduating high school.

The problem is that Luis did sign an NBA two-way contract (where a player splits time between the G-League and NBA teams). NCAA president Charlie Baker reiterated last December that the NCAA will not reinstate eligibility to anyone who has signed a two-way contract with a NBA team. The NCAA also doubled down on that standard last week as well, in a memo to teams.

Former Baylor big man James Nnaji was drafted No. 31 in the 2023 NBA Draft, but he was granted eligibility because of the loophole where he had never signed a NBA contract. Providence signed G League standout Dink Pate this spring, who intentionally passed on two-way contract offers to maintain his college eligibility. Texas A&M landed G-League sharpshooter Bryson Warren this spring, who also did not sign a two-way contract.

Inking that two-way contract proved to be the hiccup that led to Alabama's Charles Bediako being ruled ineligible by Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court Judge Daniel F. Pruet in early February after a temporary restraining order allowed the big man to play five games in an unprecedented return to college basketball. 

That Bediako precedent — even with a new 5-for-5 model coming — could prove to be tough to overcome for Luis and his representation. Both Bediako and Luis chose to bypass the NCAA's deadline to maintain eligibility. Both chose to sign a two-way contract.

Wade will certainly need good fortune from the Louisiana judicial system to get Luis onto the floor. But it's certainly worth the swing for an LSU roster that needs an influx of talent this late in the cycle.

Luis is all of 6-foot-7 and 215 pounds. The slashing, dynamic, downhill wing would certainly be one of the most proven two-way players in the SEC next season. He is a fantastic defender who'd fit like a glove in Wade's confrontational defense.

Plus, what is there to lose at this point? Wade has been unabashed this cycle with his roster-building efforts. LSU reportedly has a $5 million deal on the table for Israeli point guard Yam Madar … if he can get eligible. Madar is a 25-year-old professional who played in the EuroLeague, but he has a case for one year of eligibility because of an exemption for mandatory military service. 

LSU has also landed EuroLeague rotation products like forward Marcio Santos and big man Brice Dessert. Oh, and the Tigers are firmly in the thick of it for prized Italian product Saliou Niang, who was drafted in the second round of the 2025 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers.  

With the right luck from the courts, LSU could certainly have a top-25 caliber roster if it is trotting out a 25 year old point guard in Madar, a 23 year old All-Conference wing in Luis, a veteran double-double threat in Dessert, a grizzled stretch 4 in Santos, a high-upside difference-maker in Niang to go along with a trio of portal additions in Kentucky transfer bruiser Mo Dioubate, Kansas State transfer sniper Abdi Bashir Jr. and Michigan State transfer combo guard Divine Ugochukwu.

Rules be rebuked.