Twenty-two months in the past, RJ Luis made his faculty resolution.
The UMass switch had choices. He took visits to Louisville and Texas A&M, together with St. John’s.
The Queens college stood out for one purpose.
“I want to be coached by the best and I want somebody to hold me accountable,” Luis instructed The Put up on the time. “[Rick Pitino] is going to help me develop my game and be more of a complete player.”
To this point, it has labored out simply as Luis hoped.
In his second season as a Johnnie, he has developed into one of many prime wings within the nation, and on Wednesday he made St. John’s historical past as its first Large East Participant of the 12 months in 39 years.
Walter Berry was the final Johnnie to win the award in 1986.
Luis beat fellow unanimous All-Large East first staff picks Ryan Kalkbrenner of Creighton, Kam Jones of Marquette and Eric Dixon of Villanova.
Pitino was additionally named the Large East Coach of the 12 months after main the sixth-ranked Crimson Storm to their first outright common season title since 1985.
It’s, remarkably, the Corridor of Famer’s first time profitable the respect in 12 seasons as a Large East coach at Windfall, Louisville and St. John’s.
The award continued an enormous week for the Johnnies. On Sunday, Luis and ahead Zuby Ejiofor have been named to the All-Large East first staff. A day later, Ejiofor was chosen because the convention’s Most Improved Participant. The shut mates are the most recent Pitino growth success tales, going from function gamers a yr in the past to stars this season.
“Coach Pitino does a great job of just pushing us to our limits and beyond,” Ejiofor mentioned. “The player development sessions, the practices, the level of competitiveness is always there every single day. We have no choice but to get better.”
From the time Luis arrived in Queens, Pitino raved about his potential. Final season was tough for the Miami native.
He suffered a fractured left hand through the preseason and extreme shin splints restricted him a lot of the season.
Luis was not often in a position to apply or participate in Pitino’s famend ability growth classes. He underwent surgical procedures to restore the problems.
“It was probably like a month into the surgery. I couldn’t walk by myself, couldn’t stand up,” Luis instructed The Put up’s Steve Serby. “I felt like helpless in a manner, ‘cause I needed somebody to help me all the time. The pain was unbearable. I couldn’t sleep, needed to like up the dosage on the drug so I might simply fall asleep.
“My worst fear? I didn’t think I was gonna be as athletic. Like I thought I was gonna lose my [first] step. And I’m probably more athletic than I was the year before.”
He returned a special participant this winter — extra explosive, extra disciplined and a dynamic two-way pressure.
Luis completed the common season fourth within the Large East in scoring (18.1), sixth in rebounding (7.1) and tenth in area objective proportion (44.6).
Of late, he has considerably improved his 3-point taking pictures, making them at a 36.7 p.c clip since Jan. 11.
