Report: Miami coach Jai Lucas hiring LJ Rose as Director of Player Personnel

First-year Miami head coach Jai Lucas is set to hire former Houston and Baylor guard LJ Rose as the Hurricanes’ director of player personnel, according to ESPN’s Jeff Borzello. Rose spent the last four seasons inside the Houston Rockets‘ front office and has also served as the general manager of the Bahamas National Team.

Lynden “LJ” Rose Jr., 31, comes to Coral Gables after three seasons as a Rockets scout, according to his LinkedIn profile. Rose also spent the last two years working with the Bahamas National Team.

NEWS: New Miami coach Jai Lucas is hiring former Houston guard LJ Rose as the program's Director of Player Personnel, sources told ESPN. Rose has spent the last four seasons in the Houston Rockets' front office and is also the General Manager of the Bahamas National Team.

— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) April 18, 2025

Before joining the professional ranks, Rose spent the 2012 season at Baylor prior to a three-year stint with the Houston Cougars (2013-16), where he started 25 of 28 games during the 2013-14 season. There, he averaged 8.9 points, 5.5 assists and 2.5 rebounds while shooting 40% from the floor.

Rose then started 19 games as a junior in 2014-15, averaging 9.8 points, 5.3 assists and 2.5 rebounds, before injuries limited him to just two games during the 2015-16 season. Rose would transfer one more time and spend the 2016-17 season at BYU, where he averaged 5.5 points and 4.7 assists in 25 games in Provo.

Jai Lucas reveals why it was ‘an easy decision’ to become head coach at Miami

At his introductory press conference with Miami on March 10, Lucas spoke on what the athletic department was willing to put into the men’s basketball team in this new era of college sports. He said it was enough to make him want to take their job , considering it’s enough to help them compete quickly in his tenure.

“It’s just, uh – they showed the investment they have in winning. That’s what it takes now nowadays, you know,” Lucas said. “Especially with the new era of college basketball, you’re able to close the gap on some of these schools that have these storied traditions and are able to recruit at a certain level. There’s a little bit – it’s not completely closed but there’s a little bit more of an even playing field.

“Just everything that was explained to me and the identity I had and want for the program aligned with what they had and their vision. So it made it an easy decision for me.”

Those contributions are going to be key in Lucas turning things around at Miami. That’s with the Hurricanes being 22-41 (9-31) overall over the past two seasons, coming off a regular-season title and a national semifinal the year prior, in the final season and a half under Jim Larrañaga and the interim stint under Bill Courtney. That included this season, an all-time poor one for the team, where they went 7-24 (3-17) overall with their year already over as they did not make it into the ACC Tournament.

— On3’s Sam Gillenwater contributed to this report.