Jai Lucas releases first public comments on accepting Miami head coaching job

The Miami Hurricanes have their next head coach in Jai Lucas. He’s coming to the program from Duke, where he had been an assistant coach known for his recruiting and leading the defensive approach with the Blue Devils.

Now, in the wake of his hiring, Lucas shared his first public comments on accepting the Miami job. In those comments, he shared his belief in why Miami is situated to compete at the highest level of college basketball.

“I am incredibly grateful and honored to be the next head coach at the University of Miami,” 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.”

Lucas played his own college basketball at Florida and Texas. He’d play professionally in Latvia and in the G-League before he began his coaching career as an assistant at Texas. Since then, he’s made stops at Kentucky and Duke. He’s been with the Blue Devils since 2022 and has been their associate head coach.

“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.”

Lucas will be replacing Jim Larrañaga, who was a legend in coaching. Larrañaga led the Miami program since 2011 and had been in coaching since 1971. As recently as 2023, he took the program to the Final Four but stepped away from the team to retire in December.

It’s been a difficult season for the Hurricanes, going 6-24 to this point in the season. Despite those struggles, athletic director Dan Radakovich believes that he has the right coach to rebuild the program in Lucas.

“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.”

Lucas has an interesting challenge in front of him. Despite that, both Lucas and Miami believe the situation is a good one to succeed in.