Kenny Payne is ‘expressing interest’ in UMass transfer RJ Luis

6-foot-6 shooting guard RJ Luis entered the transfer portal around 10 days ago, per reports.

Coming out of high school, RJ Luis was touted as a consensus three-star prospect and the No. 5 overall player in the state of Florida as a member of the Class of 2022. Luis received several Division I offers as a high schooler, most notably from Rutgers, Temple, Kansas State, and Massachusetts.

Shortly after a visit to UMass on May 12, 2022, the Mount Zion Prep product committed to the Minutemen and signed on the dotted line shortly after, on May 23, 2022. However, after one season in Boston, he is ready to move on.

In his lone season in Massachusetts, he averaged 11.5 points per game, 4.6 rebounds per game, and 1.3 assists per game, while shooting 35% from behind the three-point line. RJ Luis fits the Kenny Payne-guard mold as he is over 6-foot-5. And according to reports, the Louisville basketball staff has reached out to the former three-star prospect.

As of right now, the Louisville backcourt includes Skyy Clark, Trentyn Flowers, Koron Davis, Hercy Miller, and Curtis Williams Jr. Mike James can play a hybrid of guard and forward, but as far as primary ballhandlers, Louisville needs some more help. However, Luis can dribble and finish in traffic and he’s not scared to finish in the paint.

Louisville is running low on roster space and has a plethora of athletes they are looking at, most notably North Texas transfer guard Tylor Perry, five-star 2023 forward Mackenzie Mgbako, and 2023 NBA Academy Africa product Churchill Abass. So, it will be interesting to see the direction Kenny Payne goes with his last few scholarships, but RJ Luis certainly is not a bad player.