Jon Scheyer congratulates Duke assistant Jai Lucas on being named Miami's head coach

Duke’s Jai Lucas, their associate head coach, will now officially become the next head coach of the Miami Hurricanes. With that, his now former boss has wished him well in leaving Durham for Coral Gables.

In a post on social media, Jon Scheyer congratulated Lucas on his new opportunity. He thanked him for all he did for the Blue Devils and wished him well in heading to The ‘U.

Congrats @CoachJLuc! The U got a great one. pic.twitter.com/Ic1lyVWMRn

— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) March 6, 2025

“I just want to say congratulations to Jai Lucas, you know, for Jai becoming the next head coach at Miami. You know, he’s been an incredible addition to our staff for the last few years and I’ve been excited just to have him on this journey from the beginning with me,” Scheyer said. “Not only is he a great coach, he’s a great teacher. He’s even a better person and I’ve loved developing our relationship. He’s one of my closest friends. He’s going to do a great job there. He’s done a great job for us.

“Couldn’t be happier for him with taking the next step in his professional career, no better opportunity than he has, to become a head coach in the ACC. Want to wish him all the best and couldn’t be more excited for him and his family.”

After reportedly being the top choice for Miami at the end of February, reports came on Wednesday that Lucas and the Hurricanes had agreed for him to become their next head coach. They have since made their official announcement on Thursday morning. He will now leave Duke after this weekend with his introductory press conference being on Monday.

Lucas has been at Duke during all three seasons of Scheyer’s tenure, which includes a present record of 81-21 (.794). He was an assistant in his first season there before being their associate head coach for the last two. In that time, he has been given credit for many jobs on staff, specifically defensively, with their backcourt, and on the recruiting trail.

Lucas has also made coaching stops at Kentucky under John Calipari and Texas under Rick Barnes and Shaka Smart. He served many roles during that time as a special assistant, a recruiting coordinator, a director of basketball operations, and a full-time assistant for the Wildcats or the Longhorns.

That’s after Lucas, a former top prospect himself in high school, played three seasons at Florida and then at Texas. He averaged 5.0 points, 1.6 assists, and 1.1 rebounds in 94 appearances with the Gators in Longhorns.

Now, after working his way up the coaching ranks, Lucas will replace Jim Larrañaga at Miami. He stepped down this season just after Christmas with Bill Courtney having served as the interim since then. The Hurricanes are 6-24 overall for one of their worst seasons in program history. They’re also having their worst year since joining the Atlantic Coast Conference at 2-17, which has them already eliminated from the postseason as they won’t be in the ACC Tournament.

Lucas comes well-respected over his decade in coaching with him having worked under some of the best coaches and at some of the best programs in the sport. That includes under Scheyer at Duke with him having now wished Lucas well ahead of their final game working with one another this weekend.

Lucas releases first public comments on becoming head coach at Miami

The Miami Hurricanes have their next head coach in Jai Lucas. Now, following the news of his hiring, Lucas shared his first public comments on accepting the job

“I am incredibly grateful and honored to be the next head coach at the University of Miami,” Jai Lucas said. “Miami has everything you need to compete at the highest level — elite academics, a passionate fan base, and a commitment to excellence in athletics. Beyond that, the city of Miami has a rich culture and energy that makes this an incredibly special place. The history, diversity, and passion for sports here are second to none.”

“I look forward to building on an incredible foundation and leading this program into an exciting new era,” Lucas said. “My family and I can’t wait to get to Coral Gables and get to work.”

AD Dan Radakovich shared comments as well. He believes that they have hired the right coach to rebuild the program.

“Jai is an innovative coach, a relentless recruiter and proven talent developer whose knowledge and passion for the game resonated throughout the interview process. He has coached at some of college basketball’s most storied programs under tremendous head coaches,” Radakovich said. “It is clear that Jai understands what it takes to compete on and off the floor in this new era of college basketball and he sees the great potential at Miami. We are fortunate to have Jai join us in Coral Gables.”