When a junior doesn't plan to return to school, sometimes the player may be part of senior day activities.
However, RJ Luis Jr. doesn't fall into that category.
The talented junior and Big East Player of the Year candidates will not join seniors Caddary Richmond, Davon Smith and Aaron Scott as they are praised before Saturday's home finale against Seton Hall.
“He will test the water because RJ could come back. [gets] A guaranteed contract, he should go,” coach Rick Pitino said Friday. “If he's not, he should consider staying. Obviously, I hope he stays, but I hope he goes because I think he's a professional.
Lewis said he never thought about attending Senior Day.
His focus will be on winning the Big East regular season crown against Seton Hall.
“Let's win this game on Saturday,” he said.
Lewis previously said he was open-minded about his future.
Meanwhile, the 6-foot-7 wing could be in the cusp of the major awards.
He is a Big East Player of the Year contender along with Richmond and Clayton Center's Ryan Calbrenner.
The last St. John to win the award was Walterbury in 1986.
In the conference play, Lewis is fourth in the league with points (18.1) and rebounds (7.8), 11th in free throw percentage (73.6) and 12th in field goal percentage (42.5).
Big East Coach will vote for the awards announced on the first day of the conference tournament.
Scott is dealing with a hamstring injury and did not practice on Friday.
He was injured at the end of his victory over Butler on Wednesday.
Scott returned to the game and finished with eight points, six rebounds and two steels in 38 minutes.
He will test his hamstrings on Saturday in the warm-up.
St. John's has a “whiteout” for the game. The school will distribute 10,000 white T-shirts to fans in bowls under the garden.
Senior day activities are scheduled to begin at 1:54pm until 2:15pm. Pitino wore a white suit for last year's “whiteout” game with Clayton, but it's unclear if he'll wear it again on Saturday.
