RJ Luis Jr. cleared by judge to play for LSU after spending time with 2 NBA teams

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Former St. John's basketball player RJ Luis Jr., who recently signed with LSU after trying out with two NBA teams, was granted permission by a judge on Monday to begin practicing and potentially play for the Tigers this season. The court ruling on Monday evening came after a five-hour hearing in which East Baton Rouge Parish District Court judge Ronald R. Johnson denied the NCAA's request to prevent Luis from participating in the Tigers' games.

The NCAA had argued that Luis, who never played in an NBA game, was unlikely to succeed if allowed to return to college basketball. Luis' lawyers, Tony Clayton and Elliot Abrams, argued that the NCAA's stance was unfair, citing exceptions for players from overseas professional leagues and pointing out that Luis had significantly less professional experience than many other recruited foreign players.

The NCAA's attorney, Taylor Askew, disagreed, stating that Luis' decision to leave college for the NBA was different from the other cases and that he was ineligible due to his choice. Judge Johnson, in his ruling, stated that Luis did not actually play professional basketball and emphasized that whether he was properly informed of his options when leaving college remains a topic of debate.