A Scout’s Eyes: RJ Luis Jr. Takes Center Stage | Did a Future First Round Pick Emerge at the Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship?
Jam evaluates RJ Luis Jr.'s holiday breakout and gives out this week's Hidden Gem Player of the Week residing in the Sun Belt Conference.
RJ Luis Jr. didn't take a linear path to St. John’s and the NBA radar. After attending Christopher Columbus High School (FL), the Miami native played a prep year at Mt. Zion Prep (MD), where he became a consensus three-star prospect and committed to the University of Massachusetts.
The enticing two-way wing thrived in his lone season at UMass, earning an Atlantic-10 All-Rookie Team nod with averages of 11.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.4 stocks per game while shooting 34% from beyond the arc (1.7 attempts per game). Now in his second year at St. John’s after transferring from UMass, Luis Jr. appears to be making the leap and should be firmly entrenched in the Top 60 on your big boards at the worst after shining on the holiday stage at the Baha Mar Championship in the Bahamas.
Against Baylor (11/21): 16 points (3-5 3PA) (6-13 FGA), six rebounds, four assists, and four stocks
Against Virginia (11/22): 18 points (2-4 3PA, 7-14 FGA), three rebounds, two assists, and five stocks
Against Georgia (11/24): 13 points (0-1 3PA, 6-13 FGA), four rebounds and three steals
A Defensive Terror
It truly felt like Luis Jr. was EVERYWHERE defensively. I routinely found myself chuckling at his absurd defensive playmaking/event creation prowess. In total, Luis Jr. produced 12 stocks (4.0 stocks per game) across St. John’s three games in the Baha Mar Championship.
The rangy 6’7” wing did an excellent job at leveraging his length (no official measurements, but likely a plus wingspan), quick-twitch athleticism, and motor to disrupt offenses and cause havoc both in the halfcourt and transition. He was active in passing and driving lanes, flashed valuable weakside rim protection, and showed dynamic chase-down block ability.
There was no shortage of highlight-worthy moments, from a help block at the rim on a potential Top 5 pick in VJ Edgecombe to finishing a monster two-hand slam in transition after getting a steal by playing two as the weak side pick-and-roll helper. Something I really valued was the fact that Luis Jr.’s defensive playmaking often led to points or a quality shot for either himself or his teammates.
Luis Jr.’s defensive versatility will be something to monitor all season. Between his assigned matchups and the Red Storm’s switching, he defended all five positions on the floor alongside time as the point-of-attack defender.
It’s unreasonable to expect him to defend NBA fives (probably even small ball fives too). However, being able to defend all three perimeter positions and perhaps some perimeter-oriented fours, is very much in play and would be a major draft stock booster. Either way, he’ll be a multiple-position NBA defender with positional size.
On the ball, there were times when Luis Jr. was a bit too handsy and physical. It led to some overzealousness and fouls, but I loved his willingness to be physical and not shy away from it. As he continues to add mature muscle to his projectable 215-pound frame, strength could develop into another potent defensive tool for him.
Translatable Offense
The majority of shots hit by Luis Jr. all felt like ones that he’s capable of knocking down on an NBA floor and realistically should be available to him in a 3-and-D role. He found success playing off spot ups, in transition, and on the offensive glass.
The biggest question for Luis Jr. is the “3” half of the 3-and-D role. His strengths are as a slasher and shotmaker with his three-point shooting being the swing skill (career 29.9% mark on 107 attempts). In the three games in the Bahamas, he shot 50% from deep, burying five of his ten attempts, featuring both standstill and movement makes.
Luis Jr.’s three-point shooting is certainly headed in the right direction. Although it’s obviously very early and a limited sample size, he’s draining 36.4% of his threes on 3.1 attempts per game so far this season. This is up from last season’s 20% clip on 1.7 attempts per game. It’s great to start to see more production with what has been a projectable shooting stroke that passes the eye test.
Pull-up Shooting Intrigue and Connective Passing Chops
Luis Jr.’s pull-up shooting continues to be compelling and hopefully coincides with his three-point shooting starting to find some consistency. It’s fluid and confident with steady elevation and balance.
He made both a pull-up three and stepback elbow jumper, only fueling my belief that there is a foundation of tools and shotmaking ability to become a reliable pull-up and/or mid-range shooter. I’m optimistic that he’ll at least develop a reliable pull-up on closeout attacks or direct line attacks.
It remains to be seen what kind of playmaking equity he possesses, but there are real glimpses of a dependable connective passer who can make quick reads. A couple of my favorite passes came in the UVA game: a cut into a wrap-around drop-off to Ejiofor and a corner skip to Scott for a quality three-point attempt.
Outlook
So far, Luis Jr. looks every bit the part of a disruptive 3-and-D wing that can defend multiple positions. With the step forward that he’s taking, he could have one of the more stay-or-go decisions at season's end. If his three-point shooting trajectory continues, Luis Jr. will be one of the biggest risers (outside the top 60 on most mainstream boards) and have a legitimate first round case.
Hidden Gem Player of the Week
Bryce Lindsay I James Madison University | 6’3” | 194 pound | Redshirt Freshman
Against University of Illinois Chicago (11/21): 28 points (5-6 3PA, 10-11 FGA), five rebounds, two assists, and three steals
Against UC San Diego (11/22): 17 points (5-8 3PA, 6-11 FGA), and two assists
Against Jacksonville State (11/23): 11 points (3-7 FGA, 3-8 FGA), one rebound and two assists
Bryce Lindsay, a transfer guard from Baltimore, MD, by way of Texas A&M, put on quite the shooting and shotmaking display during the three Boardwalk Battle games. He could be starting to find his footing at JMU and has the talent to assemble plenty more scoring outbursts like this. Lindsay has been a dynamic shooter with ball skills throughout his prep career and is absolutely worth monitoring long-term.
Buzzer Beaters
St. John’s has another long and rangy 3-and-D wing in North Texas transfer Aaron Scott who should be on your radar if you missed him at North Texas. He’s a Portsmouth Invitational Tournament candidate who needs to continue to prove the doubters wrong about his three-point shooting.
I remain steadfast in John Mobley Jr. being a Top 30 player in the class and it honestly might be too low, especially if I believe that he has the makings of a lottery-level prospect. He’s an elite shooter and shot maker with incredible shooting gravity that can thrive on and off the ball. He’s not operating a high volume of pick-and-rolls—something that could change as the season progresses or, more likely, next season. Once that occurs, he’ll be able to showcase his entire game.
I understand that JT Toppin might never develop the coveted outside stroke for a modern big, especially ones without ideal NBA size, but I do believe there is an NBA role for him. He’s an energy big with a relentless motor who will thrive as a play finisher, shot-blocker, rebounder, and second-chance points creator. How about his monster double-double against Saint Joseph’s! 22 points and 18 rebounds (12 offensive) with four stocks.
Cooper Flagg continues to look like the top overall prospect. The freshman phenom leads Duke in scoring (17.8 PPG), rebounds (8.8 RPG), assists (3.8 APG), steals (1.8 SPG), and blocks (1.8 BPG). Questions rightfully remain about his three-point shooting (26.1% on 4.6 attempts per game). Right now, I’m not worried at all. I love the volume, confidence, overall shotmaking, and touch flashes that he’s shown. Flagg likely will always be more of a shotmaker than a shooter, and I’m okay with that—especially if his shotmaking continues to ascend to the level required to compensate.