St. John's Professional Athletes

The NBA-to-college pipeline is rare. The NBA-to-college pipeline running through the courtroom is rarer still. Former St. John's standout R.J. Luis Jr. is now officially part of that short list.

A judge cleared Luis Jr. on Monday to begin practicing with LSU and potentially suit up for the Tigers this season — capping a whirlwind journey that took the former Red Storm wing through two NBA organizations. Luis Jr. spent time with both the Boston Celtics and the Utah Jazz before signing with LSU, making his return to college basketball one of the more unusual eligibility stories in recent memory.

The legal hurdle cleared, Luis Jr. can now focus on what happens on the court. For LSU, landing a player with legitimate NBA experience — however brief — is a meaningful addition. For Luis Jr., it's a second act that few players ever get to write.

The St. John's connection runs deep here. Luis Jr. was one of the program's more celebrated recent talents before testing the professional waters, and his willingness to return to the college game rather than chase a marginal NBA roster spot signals a player with a clear-eyed sense of where he can compete at his highest level.

The Rest of the Red Storm's NBA Footprint

Luis Jr. isn't the only St. John's alum with an NBA address this week. Julian Champagnie and David Jones are both on the San Antonio Spurs roster, giving the Red Storm a two-man presence in South Texas. Champagnie, a shooting guard, and Jones, a power forward, represent the program's most sustained current NBA presence.

In the backcourt, Daniss Jenkins is with the Detroit Pistons, while Kadary Richmond holds a roster spot with the Washington Wizards. Four active NBA players — plus one making the unprecedented jump back to college — is a strong snapshot for a program that has worked hard to re-establish itself as a pipeline school.

The Luis Jr. story, though, is the one that transcends the weekly roster check. Court clearance for college eligibility after NBA employment isn't a precedent that gets set often, and the combination of legal drama, program loyalty, and a player betting on himself in an unconventional direction makes it the kind of storyline that will follow the 2025–26 college basketball season well into March.

For St. John's alumni tracking the NBA, the 2025-26 season offered a clear highlight: Julian Champagnie arrived.

The Queens-bred shooting guard — who spent two seasons at St. John's before entering the 2022 draft — wasn't just holding a roster spot in San Antonio this year. Champagnie seized a starting role with the Spurs and proved he belonged there when it mattered most, delivering in the playoffs during what shapes up as a breakout chapter in his young NBA career.

Per a 2025-26 Spurs season review from Yahoo Sports, Champagnie's progression wasn't incidental — he earned his way into the lineup and rewarded the coaching staff's trust with elevated play on the postseason stage. For a Spurs franchise that has been threading together a rebuild around Victor Wembanyama, having a St. John's alum step into a dependable starting role is no small footnote.

What It Means for the Alumni Network

Champagnie isn't the only Red Storm product with an NBA address. Daniss Jenkins is in Detroit with the Pistons, RJ Luis Jr. is on the Celtics roster, David Jones is also in San Antonio alongside Champagnie, and Kadary Richmond holds a spot with the Wizards. But no St. John's alum had a more impactful 2025-26 storyline than Champagnie, whose playoff contributions put him squarely in the conversation about the Spurs' core going forward.

For a program that doesn't always see its players crack rotation minutes — let alone starting jobs — in the league, Champagnie's season is a meaningful proof of concept. St. John's fans know what he was in Queens: an efficient, lengthy wing who could get hot from three. The NBA version is starting to look like a more complete player.

The Bigger Picture

San Antonio's timeline is tied to Wembanyama, but the pieces around him matter. If Champagnie has locked in a starting role heading into next season, the Spurs have a cost-controlled, ascending wing who brings playoff experience — and St. John's has a legitimate NBA success story to point to in recruiting conversations.

The 2025-26 season review is the kind of validation that tends to stick. Champagnie didn't just survive the league; he stepped up when the lights were brightest. Red Storm alumni have reason to watch San Antonio closely next fall.