RJ Luis Jr. is eligible to play college basketball at LSU under a temporary injunction. Head coach Will Wade must now decide if he wants to add the 23-year-old guard to his roster and face punishment from the SEC or keep him off of the roster and face legal consequences.
Neither scenario is ideal!
The 2026-27 college basketball season is set to begin on Sunday. The Tigers will play their first game at home on Tuesday night.
RJ Luis Jr. is allowed to play college basketball at LSU.
As a former three-star prospect in the recruiting Class of 2022, RJ Luis Jr. began his career at UMass. He averaged 11.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game as a true freshman, which made him a highly coveted transfer during the offseason.
Rick Pitino brought him to St. John’s. Even though things got messy during March Madness, the 2024-25 season was his best. Luis averaged 18.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 31.8 minutes per game. He was named as the Big East Player of the Year!
And then it was off to the pros. Luis chose to forgo his final year of eligibility to play in the NBA. However, he was not drafted.
Luis signed a two-way contract with the Utah Jazz. The Jazz traded him to the Celtics. He played in three preseason games in October before he was waived by the organization on Oct. 15, right before the start of the season. Boston chose to sign him to an Exhibit 10 contract with its G League affiliate, the Maine Celtics, but waived him before the start of the season due to an injury.
Technically speaking, Luis never played in a regular season game as a professional. Due to this technicality, and the ongoing eligibility saga in collegiate athletics, he is trying to go back to college.
A lawyer is raising legal threats against Will Wade.
RJ Luis Jr. signed to play college basketball at LSU on May 19, 2026. As of late September, the Tigers listed only four players on the roster because the other athletes were not yet eligible. They played with only six players during an exhibition game at the beginning of October. Everybody else was not yet eligible.
First-year head coach Will Wade is taking an unusual approach to his roster. The majority of his team needed to take legal action against the NCAA and/or the SEC to be allowed to play.
Luis is one of those players. After filing a lawsuit against the NCAA, he was granted a preliminary injunction by a judge in East Baton Rouge Parish District Court that declared him eligible. The SEC ruled him ineligible to play for LSU under its new conference-specific rules regarding NBA Draft declarations and signed contracts the very next day. He is not listed on the roster.
This is where it gets chaotic.
Luis — who has not played a college basketball game since March 22, 2025 — was granted a temporary injunction by district Judge Ronald R. Johnson in East Baton Rouge Parish on Wednesday. The injunction temporarily blocks the SEC from punishing LSU if Luis is added to its roster. The order takes effect on Tuesday when the Tigers begin the season at home. It will last through the first three games of the 2026-27 season.
A hearing is scheduled for Nov. 13. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and LSU officials are ordered to appear.
Wade now has a decision to make. The head coach can either add Luis to his roster or face legal consequences. A person who violates an injunction or restraining order can be fined up to $1,000 and imprisoned for up to six months in the state of Louisiana.
Luis’ attorney, Tony Clayton Jr., threatened to bring Wade to court if he refuses to play his client.
“I’m telling you we’re going to use the long arm of the law to force Will Wade to play him because I’m not going to allow these folks to play musical chairs. We would bring in Coach Wade and move to hold him in constructive contempt. I would not advise anyone to be in contempt of court. This judge is real.”
Clayton also told ESPN that he hopes it does not get to the point that he has to take further legal action to get Luis on the court.
“Coach Wade is an honorable man, but he too has to answer to somebody, and I will be the first to tell him Sankey is not your god. You have to follow rules. He’s absolutely in my crosshairs. Will Wade is directly in the crosshairs. If he were to stand in the way, then let the chips fall where they may.”
Wade made this bed and must now lie in it. If he plays Luis, he is at risk of being punished by the SEC and/or the NCAA. If he doesn’t play Luis, he is at risk of of being held in contempt of court. I guess we’ll find out on Tuesday…