RJ Luis went from Big East Player of the Year at St. John's to the NBA draft pool, went undrafted, signed a two-way deal with the Utah Jazz, and got traded to the Boston Celtics in early August. That's an actual pro transaction. And yet on Monday, a Baton Rouge judge ruled Luis is still eligible to play college basketball this season for LSU, because he never appeared in an actual NBA or G League game due to injury. The court's logic: he 'practiced professionally' but never played professionally, so the clock hasn't started.
Barstool Sports flagged the absurdity of the situation bluntly, calling it out under the 'Dumbest Of Times' banner.
The Dumbest Of Times - RJ Luis (traded in the NBA) is now eligible to play this year because a Baton Rouge judged ruled he only 'practiced professionally'
This wasn't a rubber stamp. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey reportedly filed an affidavit ahead of the hearing asking the judge NOT to grant Luis eligibility, arguing it would only fuel more chaos in college sports. Arguments in the case stretched nearly six hours before Judge Ronald Johnson sided with Luis and LSU head coach Will Wade, who'd already landed Luis's commitment back in May while the fight for eligibility was still playing out.
Jeff D. Lowe framed the ruling as a potential turning point — not just for basketball, but for the sport that actually drives the money in college athletics.
For those who want things fixed in college basketball, the answer was always hoping it infected college football as well. Because once football gets hit, shit changes. We’ll see if this sticks, but a good first domino hopefully.
That's the real stakes here. Luis's lawyers reportedly leaned on the fact that dozens of college players have gone overseas as professionals and still come back to play NCAA ball — so why should a guy who signed NBA paper but never suited up for a game be treated differently? If that argument holds up on appeal, it's a blueprint. Any player who gets cut, traded, or stashed on a roster without logging a game could try the same move, basketball or otherwise.
Brandon Walker wasn't having any of it. On a Barstool show, he ripped into the double standard he sees forming around rulings like this one, arguing there shouldn't be a legal loophole for guys who got cut from pro rosters.
"If you went to the NFL, you're in the NFL. If you got cut... GET A FUCKING JOB!" -Brandon Walker is sick and tired of college football players and judges bending the rules to favor them
The NCAA hasn't said whether it'll appeal the injunction, but given how loudly Sankey pushed back before the ruling even came down, this almost certainly isn't over. For now, though, Luis is a Tiger, LSU has its guy, and college basketball just got handed the exact kind of precedent everyone in the sport has been bracing for.