Rick Pitino doesn’t mince words. He doesn’t sugarcoat decisions, either. When the Big East Player of the Year, RJ Luis, was having a hard time against Arkansas, shooting 3 for 17, Pitino benched him. Crunch time. Final five minutes. The game slipping away. St. John’s season unraveled in a 75-66 loss as Luis sat and watched. Fans were stunned. Critics were loud. Pitino? Unbothered. “He played 30 minutes,” he snapped at reporters, shutting down questions about fatigue or strategy. It was hard for Luis, as he was on a tear all season.

Luis owned his performance, admitting, “I let my teammates down.” But the fallout was brutal. After his worst game of the year, trolls piled on hate all over social media. The situation got so terrible that Luis deleted his Instagram account. And now? He’s leaving St. John’s, has entered the transfer portal, and is testing the waters of the NBA draft. Fans are now divided.

Now, Pitino wasn’t exactly singing Luis’s praises. Rather than praising Luis for his leadership, the Rick pitino instead gave props to other players like Kadary Richmond and Deivon Smith. Many didn’t take this shift well. Pitino, in fact, went so far as to say that Luis had “reached his potential” at St. John’s and urged him to “try and make the NBA.” However, the story did not end there.

Showing some support for the player, one noted on X, “Everyone wants to make this an NIL thing but he was benched for the last four minutes of the biggest game of his career. That’s a poor taste to have left in your mouth at the end of the season, even if Rick Pitino publicly supported him after the fact.” It wasn’t just about Luis’s performance. It was the fact that their star player had been sidelined when his team needed him the most. But not everyone was on the same page.

Fans came in support of Rick Pitino amid backlash over Luis’s decision

Pitino’s decision found echoes of support beyond just St. John’s fans. Social media was flooded by fans showing their frustration. One even wrote, “RJ Luis! Welcome to the loser list. Wow what a loser move that is.” The stats from the game add up to the frustration. Luis was hardly the dominant force he had been all season in the 30 minutes he played.

Luis had been a revelation all season, leading St. John’s to a 31-5 record and an 18-2 Big East mark. His season averages of 18.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game earned him Big East Player of the Year honors and a spot on the Second Team All-American list.

Luis shot only 3 for 17, and finished with 9 points — well short of his 18.2 a game mark. “Rick Pitino a coaching legend you think he wanted to bench RJ? Hell no! Did he see RJ JACKING up the flow and energy of the game with shot selection abysmal defense and horrible attitude in a win or go home situation? Absolutely. If anyone deserves some grace for that it’s Rick.” A fan argued siding with the coach.

However, Luis’s case is far from being an exception. This cycle, over 1,000 Division I players have entered the transfer portal, and yet the backlash against Luis has been especially extreme. Recent transfer moves are being viewed more and more cynically, especially if they follow poor performances.

Meanwhile, the sentiment was summed up perfectly as one noted, “RJ Luis …. Shame absolute shame.” Another fan pointed out the stark difference between his performance and his ambitions: “RJ Luis shit his pants the last game he played but tryna go league lol.” ESPN now has his teammate, Zuby Ejiofor, above him in draft stock. Luis at No. 72 and Ejifor at No. 64.

In the cutthroat world of college basketball, every movement is under microscope, and sometimes, decisions that are made come with consequences far beyond the court. Rick Pitino is just another day of tough calls, for RJ Luis this may be the moment that defines his future.