Speaker 1: My next guest is a now former star for Saint
Speaker 1: John's University. He recently entered the transfer portal and the
Speaker 1: clip for the twenty twenty five NBA draft.
Speaker 2: If he remains in college, the.
Speaker 1: Big East Player of the Year is expected to make
Speaker 1: at least one point five million dollars in NIL earnings
Speaker 1: next season. So joining me now to discuss his future
Speaker 1: none other than the now former starf for Saint John's himself,
Speaker 1: R J.
Speaker 2: Luise Junior. What's going on, big time? How are you, man?
Speaker 2: How's everything?
Speaker 3: What's going on? Good afternoon, Good, good afternoon.
Speaker 1: It's good to see. It's good to finally meet you.
Speaker 1: You got a lot of friends that are friends of mine.
Speaker 1: They've been telling me to meet you for quite some time.
Speaker 1: Congratulations on a great year that you've had. I have
Speaker 1: to admit and start off with this. I'm still pissed
Speaker 1: off at Coach Patino. I did not like the fact
Speaker 1: that you were on the bench for the damn near
Speaker 1: last five minutes of that NCAA Tournament game against Arkansas.
Speaker 1: I want to know that at now that you've had
Speaker 1: time to reflect on it, how are you feeling about
Speaker 1: what transpired?
Speaker 2: And where's your head at right now.
Speaker 4: I mean, obviously, you know, during the game, was kind
Speaker 4: of hurt, you know, just not not being able to
Speaker 4: you know, be on my on the court, with my
Speaker 4: with my team for the last five minutes to you know,
Speaker 4: be able to win the game. But I mean, you know,
Speaker 4: coach coach made a decision that he felt was best,
Speaker 4: and you know, I have to I have to respect that.
Speaker 1: My attitude and I think the attitude of most sports
Speaker 1: fan is that you you use what brought you there.
Speaker 1: I mean, eighteen point two points game, forty four percent shooting.
Speaker 1: Throughout the twenty twenty five season, Big East Player of
Speaker 1: the Year, Big East Tournament Most Outstanding Player consisted, second
Speaker 1: team All American all Right, and Saint John's won the
Speaker 1: Big East Outright in the regular season for the first
Speaker 1: time since nineteen eighty five and the Biggest tournament for
Speaker 1: the first time since two thousand. Even though you were
Speaker 1: struggling that game, what was your attitude did you feel like, listen,
Speaker 1: I can I can get through this even though I'm
Speaker 1: struggling this after knew what were you thinking at the time, I.
Speaker 3: Mean, I definitely was.
Speaker 4: It was a it was an off day, It was
Speaker 4: a rough day probably wasn't my best game of the year,
Speaker 4: but I mean, I just feel like, you know, there
Speaker 4: was still five minutes up in the game.
Speaker 3: I think anything could have happened. When I came out
Speaker 3: the game, I.
Speaker 4: I shot the two free throws and I cut it
Speaker 4: down someone possession. So I mean I was thinking, hopefully,
Speaker 4: you know, I hit those two free throws, I was
Speaker 4: going to be able to calm down a little bit.
Speaker 4: But I mean, I think anything could have happened in
Speaker 4: the last five minutes of the game.
Speaker 1: You know, I wanted to ask you before I show
Speaker 1: you a quote. I want to know what your teammates
Speaker 1: said to you at that time when it was going on.
Speaker 1: What were they saying to you or what did they
Speaker 1: say to you? And the immediate aftermath of the game.
Speaker 4: It was a kind of just letting like everything else
Speaker 4: soak in, you know, just the season we had, you know,
Speaker 4: thirty one thirty one, four thirty one and five since
Speaker 4: we lost that game, but everybody was just kind of just,
Speaker 4: you know, kind of sad, trying to just you know,
Speaker 4: just take it in, and they didn't really understand what
Speaker 4: was going on.
Speaker 3: You know, I myself was lost for word.
Speaker 4: So it was kind of the first couple of minutes
Speaker 4: in the locker room was very silent, and then you know,
Speaker 4: then it hit us, and you know, a couple of
Speaker 4: the guys was crying. Some of the seniors was was
Speaker 4: very upset, you know, just because you know, we weren't
Speaker 4: able to you know, keep on dancing. But I mean,
Speaker 4: after that, you know, we just hugged it out. We'd
Speaker 4: even talk about as far as like individual performances. We
Speaker 4: just you know, gave each other a hug. We congratulated
Speaker 4: each other on a great season. And it just suck
Speaker 4: to go out that way.
Speaker 1: Coach Rick Patino, when asked about it after the game,
Speaker 1: wouldn't elaborate on his decision making and why he had
Speaker 1: made that decision. People like myself and various other pundits,
Speaker 1: we were calling them out, like what the hell are
Speaker 1: you doing?
Speaker 2: That's not what you do.
Speaker 1: But nevertheless, he decided to speak on this recently, within
Speaker 1: the last forty eight hours or so, and I wanted
Speaker 1: to see I wanted to show you this quote, and
Speaker 1: I wanted to get your reaction in real time to what.
Speaker 2: The coach had to say about his decision.
Speaker 3: Quote.
Speaker 1: It was the right move talking about benching you. It
Speaker 1: was the right move because of where he was mentally.
Speaker 1: He was forcing shots and it was affecting the rest
Speaker 1: of his game. Luis was not only getting down about
Speaker 1: his game. He wasn't playing the deep we needed. He
Speaker 1: wasn't playing the transition.
Speaker 2: Defense we needed.
Speaker 1: He wasn't blocking out all the missed shots and the
Speaker 1: forced shots were affecting him. He just recently gave those
Speaker 1: quotes the Vice TV. What is your reaction to what
Speaker 1: your coach said.
Speaker 3: I mean, I'm just hurt. You know. Obviously, like I said,
Speaker 3: it wasn't it wasn't my best performance.
Speaker 4: But I think it's a could have you know, could
Speaker 4: have did a better job, you know, picking my head up,
Speaker 4: and you know, you know, just just doing a better job,
Speaker 4: you know, coaching me up, like how he's done the
Speaker 4: whole year. And it just it just sucks to her said,
Speaker 4: you know obviously the way I played and the way
Speaker 4: we went out in the tournament. Uh, you know, I'm
Speaker 4: gonna take that with me, uh, I mean forever. You know,
Speaker 4: that's my first time participating in March Madness. But I
Speaker 4: mean definitely just just hurt. It's one of those you know,
Speaker 4: you can only control what you can control. And I mean,
Speaker 4: like I said, you know, Coase Bettino made a decision
Speaker 4: which he thought was best for the team, and I
Speaker 4: have to respect that.
Speaker 2: Is that why you're leaving Saint John's? Is there another reason?
Speaker 3: That's not the reason.
Speaker 4: I mean, I feel like this season I had. I
Speaker 4: feel like my my stock won't be any higher than
Speaker 4: it is. And I mean, thanks to my coaches and
Speaker 4: my teammates, you know, they've been able to you know,
Speaker 4: put me in a position to you know, take the
Speaker 4: next step uh in my journey, and obviously that's to
Speaker 4: play in the NBA. So that's really really my decision
Speaker 4: is to you know, to go on and you know,
Speaker 4: start the draft process and to see what what God
Speaker 4: has in story for me for at the next level.
Speaker 1: I understand that the draft process is the draft process,
Speaker 1: but is it possible that you could potentially end up
Speaker 1: transferring to another college or are you all in on
Speaker 1: entering this NBA draft and that's what you anticipate you
Speaker 1: will do.
Speaker 4: I mean I'm all in, but I mean, worst case scenario.
Speaker 4: Always got to have a backup plan. So obviously that's
Speaker 4: why I into the trans supporter. But I mean I'm
Speaker 4: fully focused and I'm fully focused on the on the drafts.
Speaker 1: What kind of game do you believe you bring to
Speaker 1: the table, now just for another college team potentially, but
Speaker 1: for an NBA team. Describe your game in what you
Speaker 1: believe you bring to the table.
Speaker 4: I'm a two way player, very versatile. I could guard
Speaker 4: multiple positions. I feel like I could defend at a
Speaker 4: high level. And I've I've improved that i could score
Speaker 4: the ball at all three levels. And I'm improving my
Speaker 4: jump shot, my three point shooting, which.
Speaker 3: Is very big in the NBA NBA game.
Speaker 4: So I mean, I mean as far as what I've done,
Speaker 4: like the last ten games, I think I've I've sat
Speaker 4: like fifty not mentioning the last game, but I mean
Speaker 4: I think I bring a lot. I have a lot
Speaker 4: of potential. Like you know, my persona, my person, you know,
Speaker 4: my character, very hard working, very determined. I've earned everything
Speaker 4: that I've been given, and I mean I just keep
Speaker 4: on improving. You know, I'm a late bloomer, like you'll say.
Speaker 4: You know, it was very under recruited coming out of
Speaker 4: high school, had to go to prep school, and you know,
Speaker 4: I just been working, you know for moments like these
Speaker 4: for these opportunities, and you know, I'm gonna just keep
Speaker 4: on putting the work into, you know, better, my craft.
Speaker 4: And I feel like, you know, a NBA team's going
Speaker 4: to get a great kid, a very humble kid, a
Speaker 4: very hard working kid, and a kid that wants to compete,
Speaker 4: and you know, just went at the highest level.
Speaker 1: I'm talking to the Reign and Biggies Player of the
Speaker 1: Year in the consisting second team All Americans, so we
Speaker 1: know you can ball. When you think about what you
Speaker 1: have to do, how far you've come, and how you've
Speaker 1: worked up to this point. Are you of the mindset
Speaker 1: that you know what you're definitely and definitively ready now
Speaker 1: and it.
Speaker 2: Would be best for you to be in the NBA.
Speaker 1: Now or is there a possibility that you might decide
Speaker 1: it might be better for you to wait and go
Speaker 1: back to school for an additional year before going pro.
Speaker 1: What's the whole mindset that you're dealing with right now?
Speaker 3: Oh, mindset? I feel good.
Speaker 4: You know, I'm healthy first and foremost, you know, coming
Speaker 4: off a double shin surgery. So you know, I just
Speaker 4: give the glory to God, you know, for allowing me to,
Speaker 4: you know, play the sport that I love so much,
Speaker 4: you know, just obviously just being healthy. That's really the main,
Speaker 4: the main thing I took out of this whole year.
Speaker 4: And obviously you know the performance I had individually as
Speaker 4: far as collectively with my team, I think we did
Speaker 4: something extraordinary, Uh this season that Saint John's hasn't seen it,
Speaker 4: you know, over forty years. So it just feels great.
Speaker 4: And uh, definitely I feel like I'm ready. I feel
Speaker 4: like me going back to school would uh probably be
Speaker 4: like a burden, you know, just because you know, I've
Speaker 4: accomplished so much and as far as like accolades and
Speaker 4: you know, just winning, I feel like it just it
Speaker 4: would just be hard to you know, kind of replicate
Speaker 4: that and and uh and match that next year.
Speaker 3: If I were to go back to.
Speaker 1: College, knowing that's still a possibility at the slight chance
Speaker 1: that you remain in college, what programs are you looking
Speaker 1: to transfer to or what kind of system do you
Speaker 1: think better best works for your for your skill set.
Speaker 4: I mean, like I said, uh, fully focused on the
Speaker 4: draft right now. There's definitely a Uh every school in
Speaker 4: the country has been has been reaching out to to
Speaker 4: to my agency with Rock Nation, But I'm really not
Speaker 4: even paying on mindset that right now. You know obviously,
Speaker 4: like I said, answer the transporter as a as a
Speaker 4: backup plan and just really focused on the on the
Speaker 4: draft right now. And if it comes to that, you know,
Speaker 4: we'll circle back and go back to that because you
Speaker 4: know we left that opportunity open. But definitely just I
Speaker 4: on the prize, just the NBA right now.
Speaker 2: When you talk to NBA scouts, this is something I
Speaker 2: would know about.
Speaker 1: Even though your crew, you know, O G One and
Speaker 1: the rest of the crew looking out for you the
Speaker 1: way that they that I know they will because they
Speaker 1: know everybody. When you think about what you've accomplished in
Speaker 1: your life, not just your career. Knowing NBA personnel the
Speaker 1: way that I do, they ain't gonna just add they
Speaker 1: think they've got your game down, pat They know what
Speaker 1: you can bring in, what potential you may have, et cetera.
Speaker 1: But you the person when they sit down and they
Speaker 1: ask you about you and what you will bring to
Speaker 1: a locker room, what you will bring to a franchise
Speaker 1: an organization. What is it that you like all of
Speaker 1: these NBA teams to know about you?
Speaker 4: I mean, like I said, a humble kid, Uh, you know,
Speaker 4: a hard worker, a competitor, and I'm just really just
Speaker 4: you know, just uh somebody that knows how to deal
Speaker 4: with adversity, you know, being overlooked. I kind of have
Speaker 4: a chip on my shoulder. So really just you know,
Speaker 4: just going in there determined, and I mean just knowing that,
Speaker 4: you know, all the hard work that I put has
Speaker 4: has led me here. You know, I'm gonna keep on
Speaker 4: doing that, you know what I mean. That's really it
Speaker 4: just you know, bringing in the energy and U do
Speaker 4: doing the little things that you know that that they
Speaker 4: need me to do. And obviously you know as I
Speaker 4: hopefully as I get there, you know, I'll develop, develop
Speaker 4: my game and you know, just keep on improving as
Speaker 4: a player and as a person.
Speaker 1: Anyone in particular you modeled your game after, or you'd
Speaker 1: like to model your game after.
Speaker 3: Uh, nobody in particular, you know.
Speaker 4: Obviously, you know there's there's people I look at, you know,
Speaker 4: that have the same same body type. I like I
Speaker 4: like Jason Tatum, I like Devin Booker.
Speaker 3: Uh, I like Shape Guild of Alexander.
Speaker 4: You know, just those big guards that are you know,
Speaker 4: not able to secure for themselves, but to create for
Speaker 4: others and I think that's something that I wasn't able
Speaker 4: to demonstrate a whole lot. I think I'm a way
Speaker 4: better playmaker, and you.
Speaker 3: Know what I've.
Speaker 4: Done in college. You know, just the floor space is
Speaker 4: very compact. It's a lot of guys in the in
Speaker 4: the gaps and stuff like that. So I think, you know,
Speaker 4: just playing in the NBA and is playing on a
Speaker 4: more spaced out, uh more space out system will allow
Speaker 4: me to you know, just showcase my playmaking abilities more.
Speaker 1: Talk about the experience for the NCAA tournament and what
Speaker 1: you believe is necessary in order to succeed well enough
Speaker 1: to win a national championship. Just going through what you've been.
Speaker 4: Through, I mean, I wish I could tell you. I
Speaker 4: mean I think I got a little taste of it.
Speaker 4: It's kind of hard to really tell you what really
Speaker 4: takes into that, you know, just because I haven't haven't
Speaker 4: been a part of that culture. But I mean hopefully
Speaker 4: I've been part of you know, building that that that
Speaker 4: that little culture asked Saint John's and you know, trying
Speaker 4: to get that program going.
Speaker 3: But I mean those.
Speaker 4: Are those are great programs, great coaches, and I mean
Speaker 4: it takes a lot, you know, uh as far as
Speaker 4: you know, the trans supporter and stuff like that. You know,
Speaker 4: it's hard to build that type of chemistry. So you know,
Speaker 4: just just got to, you know, go go where you're
Speaker 4: able to to build as a as a person, as
Speaker 4: a player.
Speaker 3: And obviously, you know, you gotta play with.
Speaker 4: A coaching staff that believes in you. And I mean
Speaker 4: obviously you gotta you gotta put the work in. Nothing's given.
Speaker 4: And I think all those teams have earned the right
Speaker 4: to to play in the final four.
Speaker 1: I know you transferred from U mass after one year
Speaker 1: to go to Saint John's the last two years, and
Speaker 1: obviously being at Saint John's did a lot.
Speaker 2: For you, your career, your future, et cetera.
Speaker 1: To close out, is there anything you'd like to say
Speaker 1: to somebody like a Rick Patino before we depart?
Speaker 4: Uh to tell them now, I just tell them, thank
Speaker 4: you for the opportunity.
Speaker 3: Uh, you know, obviously.
Speaker 4: Without them, I wouldn't be able to play at Saint John's.
Speaker 4: And you know, obviously, get a get a good education.
Speaker 4: I mean some people may not know, but I'm actually
Speaker 4: a four point zero student. Oh I take I take
Speaker 4: I take them take academics pretty seriously as far as
Speaker 4: you know basketball, and I mean that's it. I just
Speaker 4: really just just thank him for the opportunity just knowing
Speaker 4: you know, uh, he took a chance out of care
Speaker 4: from Miami and he believed in me to you know,
Speaker 4: to come into the Big East and and to perform,
Speaker 4: and you know, he's he's allowed me to showcase my
Speaker 4: abilities at the at the highest level of one of
Speaker 4: the best conferences in the country.
Speaker 2: You said you're a four point oh student. What's your majorment?
Speaker 3: Sports management?
Speaker 1: Okay, right, so I mean what are you trying to do?
Speaker 1: Be an agent on your own agency? I mean, be
Speaker 1: a future president of basketball operations at GM.
Speaker 2: What's the ultimate goal down the line?
Speaker 4: I'm here if you sit here, uh in my hoodie
Speaker 4: right here, Me and my dad got our own own academy.
Speaker 4: Really just trying to you know, just help kids from
Speaker 4: thorough countries and really just you know, expand that platform
Speaker 4: and try to introduce you know, not only basketball, but
Speaker 4: multiple sports, and you know, just give him the opportunity
Speaker 4: to come over here. And you know it's not all
Speaker 4: about you know, finding the next professional, but just give
Speaker 4: him a chance to you know, succeed in the future
Speaker 4: and give them a better, better lifestyle.
Speaker 1: You talked about people from you know, from third world countries,
Speaker 1: other spots obviously, any any particular areas you're targeting.
Speaker 4: I mean mainly I got the flag right here, so
Speaker 4: we're just trying to represent the you know, the Dominican community,
Speaker 4: as far as the Ecuadorian community. Just just big on
Speaker 4: the Latin community. And you know, it's just been a
Speaker 4: that's also it's been a great blessing. You know, it's
Speaker 4: play in New York, the Mecca basketball where you know,
Speaker 4: Dominicans were back home.
Speaker 3: They say, you know, they think New York is a
Speaker 3: state of the United States. So I mean, I think
Speaker 3: it's just great.
Speaker 4: You know, it's to put on and just get all
Speaker 4: that recognition and love, and you know, this is to
Speaker 4: be a proud Hispanic kid. That's you know, put it
Speaker 4: on for those those third world countries and it's just
Speaker 4: truly a blessing. And I'm just trying to, you know,
Speaker 4: just just embrace the journey and do the best that
Speaker 4: I can to give back, keep.
Speaker 2: Doing your thing.
Speaker 1: Man, Really really proud of You're proud of the year
Speaker 1: that you have. Man, no matter how it ended, you
Speaker 1: still had a great, great year. All the best to
Speaker 1: you in the future moving forward. I know you're gonna
Speaker 1: do big things, but man, our j Luis Junior appreciate you.
Speaker 2: Man, thank you so much much appreciate, thank you. God
Speaker 2: bless all right, God bless h