St. John’s RJ Luis’ status up in air for matchup against UConn

Zuby Ejiofor is optimistic. St. John’s coach Rick Pitino isn’t so sure.

The question of whether leading scorer RJ Luis Jr. is going to be a player for the 10th-ranked Red Storm when they host two-time defending national champion Connecticut on Sunday at the Garden, still felt like a mystery on Friday as he was not expected to practice leading up to the Big East matchup.

Luis (groin pull) missed his first game of the season on Wednesday night when the Storm beat DePaul in Chicago. Pitino said postgame that “RJ is probably going to miss Connecticut.”

Luis, who is averaging 17.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.4 steals, is in contention to be the Big East Player of the Year. He had 21 points and seven rebounds for St. John’s (23-4, 14-2) in its 68-62 road win over UConn (18-8, 10-5) on Feb. 7.

“I’m really optimistic,” Ejiofor said. “He’s a competitor and we all know exactly what he brings to the table and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he’s playing. . . . He told me he’s doing good and he’s getting treatment and he’s doing whatever he’s capable of doing just to get back as soon as possible.”

Told of Ejiofor’s optimism, Pitino said, “I wouldn’t be pessimistic or optimistic because he hasn’t done a single thing and you won’t know until he tries it [Saturday]. So there’s no reason to be optimistic, no reason to be pessimistic. . . . If he’s 100%, we’re playing him. If he’s not, we’re not playing him.”

Winning without key players — Deivon Smith missed several games with a shoulder injury — is something St. John’s has excelled at.

“I just think we focus on the game plan, defensively and offensively, and don’t worry about who’s playing or who’s not playing,” Pitino said. “Just focus on trying to win the game with what you have.”

The final call could be on Luis. As Pitino said, “It’s RJ’s decision.”

Award-winning coach?

Pitino is in the running for some serious coaching accolades with this resurgent St. John’s season. With the Red Storm in first place after being picked to finish fifth in the preseason poll of conference coaches, he likely is the front runner for the Big East Coach of the Year.

On Monday, he was one of 15 coaches announced on the watch list for the 2025 Naismith Coach of the Year Award. Though Pitino’s Louisville teams won two Big East regular season titles and three conference tournament championships, he’s never won that award. At the end of the 1986-87 season, after taking Providence to the Final Four, he was named the Wooden and NABC National Coach of the Year.

Glover done for season

Freshman guard Jaiden Glover has been ruled out for the remainder of the season due to the tendon tear in his right wrist that has bothered him for much of the season, Pitino said. Glover appeared in 22 games and averaged just 2.2 points in 6.4 minutes, but was a three-point threat that Pitino has used in certain situations. He was 10-for-30 on three-point attempts. . . Sophomore center Vince Iwuchukwu was cleared to return after missing the contest in Chicago due to a concussion.