Jai Lucas Rumors Shake Miami Basketball Search: What We Know So Far

Rumors on Saturday that Miami has gone to one of the nation’s top basketball programs to find its new basketball coach in Duke assistant Jai Lucas shook the Internet.

No the story was not accurate. Lucas, an assistant to Jon Scheyer at Duke the past three seasons, has not been hired by Miami. That doesn’t always matter in today’s world of social media where it’s sometimes more about views and follows than accuracy.

Sources told CaneSport Saturday night that the job has not yet actually been offered to anybody. Semantics? Maybe. But it appears to be the truth.

Later Saturday, the Associated Press reported that Lucas has agreed to become the next head coach at Miami, pending the completion of contract negotiations, which would evolve over the coming weeks. Miami would like to hire a coach around the completion of the regular season March 8.

Lucas IS one of the nation’s most coveted assistant coaches and certainly is and will be considered for several of the currently open and soon to be open head coaching jobs around college basketball, including Miami. That’s why the rumors connecting him and the Hurricanes certainly can’t be outright dismissed. Lucas could still be the guy in line to land the right to replace Jim Larranaga at Miami. He even will be in town this week with Duke when the Blue Devils visit the Watsco Center.

Great day for an interview?

But the rumors that went viral fast Saturday certainly could also be complicating things for Miami in the event Lucas is at or near the top of the Hurricane search. If that is the case, the cat is now out of the bag which can affect landing Lucas in its entirety or certainly create a bidding war for him if it does reach the point that an offer is ready to be made.

Miami has been here before. Back then, when Leonard Hamilton was leaving to go to the NBA’s Washington Wizards, there was a leak that Miami had a deal with then Boston Celtics Coach Rick Pitino before it actually did. The leak killed the developing deal and Pitino never ended up in the job.

Lucas is said to be focused on finishing the year at Duke, where they are thinking national championship. That doesn’t, of course, stop his agent from negotiating with the Hurricanes or anybody else or mean he can’t interview for the job. It also doesn’t mean the other schools looking for a coach aren’t also doing the same.

One thing not in debate is that Lucas is one of the top recruiters in college basketball and a 36-year-old coach very much in demand considering he has never been a head coach.

He was on the staff at Kentucky prior to going to Duke, so Lucas knows what the top basketball programs in the country are supposed to look like. Duke thinks so highly of him that he was promoted.to associate head coach in June 2023.

Lucas aids in the development of Duke’s backcourt while primarily serving as the team’s defensive coordinator. In his first season in Durham, the 2022-23 Blue Devils ranked among the nation’s best defensive teams allowing 63.6 points per game, a .406 field goal percentage and .305 three-point percentage – each top 30 nationally and each top two in the ACC, and captured the program’s conference record 22nd ACC Tournament championship after going 27-9 overall and 14-6 in the ACC. In 2023-24, Duke’s defense held opponents to 66.3 points per game, which ranked 28th nationally and second in the ACC, while the team posted records of 27-9 overall and 15-5 in conference to advance to the NCAA Elite Eight.

Prior to Duke, Lucas was on staff at Kentucky for two seasons, joining the Wildcats as recruiting coordinator in August 2020 before a promotion to assistant coach/recruiting coordinator for the 2020-21 season. In two seasons with UK, he helped the program sign five players who played in either the McDonald’s All-American or Jordan Brand Classic games. He was instrumental in landing three student-athletes ranked in ESPN 100’s class of 2021 rankings and recruited two top-100 prospects that had signed with Kentucky for the 2022-23 campaign.

Lucas began his coaching career at his alma mater, where he spent seven seasons on staff. The Houston native began as a special assistant with the program from 2013-15 before serving as director of basketball operations in the 2015-16 season. He was promoted to assistant coach in June of 2016 and in his first year helped the Longhorns win 20 games and earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

In his first two recruiting cycles as an assistant coach, Lucas helped the Longhorns ink two top-10 ranked signing classes. The 2017 class was rated No. 5 nationally by Rivals while the 2018 class was tapped No. 8 in the country by ESPN and 247Sports. Lucas followed that with the nation’s No. 17-ranked class according to 247Sports in 2019.

His debut season as an assistant also helped spark a three-year streak in which a Texas freshman was selected in the first round of the NBA Draft. In 2016-17, he aided in the growth of Jarrett Allen, who garnered All-Big 12 recognition and was taken No. 22 overall by the Brooklyn Nets. The following two years saw Lucas play a key role in developing a pair of lottery picks, as Mohamed Bamba turned an honorable mention All-America season into becoming the No. 6 overall selection in the 2018 Draft while Jaxson Hayes was named the Big 12 Freshman of the Year before going No. 8 overall in 2019. With Hayes’ selection, Texas joined Duke and Kentucky as the only programs with a lottery pick in consecutive drafts.

As a player, Lucas spent three seasons in the professional ranks, including one in Latvia with BK Valmiera of the Baltic Basketball League (2011-12) and two in the NBA Development League with the Idaho Stampede (2012-13) and Canton Charge (2013). He appeared in 58 games with one start during a two-year career at Texas, helping the Longhorns earn back-to-back NCAA Tournament bids. Lucas played at University of Florida for his freshman season in 2007-08 and was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team.

Lucas was a McDonald’s All-American, a Jordan Brand Classic selection and a Parade All-America Second Team honoree as a senior at Bellaire High School in Houston. He started for three seasons and was a three-time District Player of the Year while leading Bellaire to three consecutive district titles.

Other coaches believed to be on the Miami radar are New Mexico Head Coach Richard Pitino and George Washington Head Coach Chris Caputo, Jim Larranaga’s former lead assistant. Miami is believed to be waiting until the end of the season to hire its coach. It is not known if Saturday’s rumors will alter that timeline if Lucas indeed the top target.