One young St. John's fan wants RJ Luis Jr. to know that she has his back.
The Red Stormstar was seeded in No. 2, when he lost to St. John's 75-66's 10th Arkansas in the 32nd round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, a message of negativity flooded after his rough performance.
The response disappointed Lily, a 12-year-old St. John's fan known as “mini fan” to the St. John's social media community, and urged Lewis to show his positivity, according to his mother Brandi.
“Mini Fan” created a homemade sign with hand-drawn photos of Lewis with Big East Tournament trophies with heartwarming messages.
“You're an amazing RJ Lewis,” reads Sign.
“You're a great basketball player! Keep up the good work!” The message continued.
Lily was sportsing St. John's Big East Tournament champion hoodie in the photo.
“RJ is one of her favorite players and the idea is that people are very unfriendly to him. [because] One bad game… especially since he had so much to cheer for us, we've got to have our MVP, Player of the Year and us. [Big East] Championship…it was really sad for her,” Brandi posted in X's message.
“She wanted RJ to be surprised and lift his chin.”
Charles Wentzelberg/New York Post
“Mini Fan” and her family are from Iowa and travel to New York to actually catch a St. John's game in their yard.
During his final trip to MSG, Red Storm athletic director Ed Cal arranged for his family to meet one of the players, Brandi said.
Lewis shot 17-3 from the field with a season-ending loss to Arkansas, missing all three attempts from 3-point range.
He scored just nine points and was benched by manager Rick Pitino at crunch time.
The reaction Lewis received from the loss in the second round on Saturday has also saddened other St. John fans, some going on social media to blame the hatred that Red Storm Guard has suffered.
It includes WFAN Host Brandon Tierneylamented “a sad state of where we are/who we became” regarding his message to Lewis.
Following the loss, a heartbroken Lewis told reporters that he had lost his teammate.
Lewis joined St. John's in 2023 as a transfer from UMass, leaving him with another year of qualification leaving him with the possibility that he could return to Queens at the table.
