RJ Luis to miss time early in St. John’s injury blow

College Basketball

By Zach Braziller

Rick Pitino received his first dose of bad news as St. John’s coach on Tuesday.

Talented wing RJ Luis will be out for the early part of the season with a broken left hand, the Hall of Fame coach confirmed to The Post.

The 6-foot-7 Luis, a UMass transfer, suffered the injury during Sunday’s open practice.

Luis was wearing a protective brace as he watched Tuesday’s workout from the sideline.

There is hope the sophomore can return in time for the Charleston Classic, which begins for the Johnnies Nov. 16 against North Texas.

The one positive is that St. John’s is very deep on the wing.

Luis was battling Oregon State transfer Glenn Taylor Jr. and UConn transfer Nahiem Alleyne to be the team’s starting small forward.

Four-star freshman Brady Dunlap and Virginia Military Institute transfer Sean Conway could also see time in Luis’ absence.

Pitino has frequently played small in the past, and has said he can see St. John’s going with three guards at times as well.

So there are options on this deep roster.

Pitino is very high on Luis, who has a sweet stroke from deep.

He was an All-Atlantic 10 freshman team selection last year for UMass.

Luis averaged 11.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in his first year of college basketball.

Luis picked St. John’s in early May over Louisville and Texas A&M.

The likely scenario has Taylor starting at the season’s outset.

The 6-6 Taylor is a strong defender and a versatile offensive player who posted 11.6 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.2 assists last season.

Dunlap, nursing an ankle injury, has missed the last few days of practice.

But his injury isn’t considered serious.

The 6-8 wing has impressed the coaching staff thus far with his shot-making prowess and is expected to carve out a role for himself.

Before Luis’ injury, Pitino told The Post he was still evaluating the roster, and was unsure what his starting five would look like when the season starts on Nov. 7 against Stony Brook.

It’s safe to say that won’t include Luis now for at least the first few games