Rick Pitino Defends Benching Star RJ Luis In Tournament Loss

03/23/2025 02:54 PM

As St. John's wound down a tightly contested loss to Arkansas in the NCAA Tournament, star wing R.J. Luis was on the bench. Following the game, St. John's coach Rick Pitino defended his decision to bench Luis.

Pitino initially referenced Luis having played 30 minutes by saying "That's a long time." When asked if Luis was tired. Pitino said, "No. He played 30 minutes. I played other people. You're asking leading questions, so don't ask me any questions. You already know why he didn't play."

When pressed on Luis not being on the floor during crunchtime, Pitino aggravatedly answered by citing Luis' poor shooting during the game.

"You know he was 3-for-17. You know he was 0-for-3 (from 3]). So, you're answering our own (question)," Pitino said. "I'm not going to knock one of my players."

For his part, Luis took ownership for his poor play.

"It feels like we didn't do anything, really. It sucks to lose the way we lost," Luis said. "I let my teammates down."