Lucas remains "focus" candidate for Miami basketball job with Saturday mania certain to expedite a conclusion one way or the other

Before Saturday’s rumors about a hiring of Duke assistant Jai Lucas to be Miami’s new basketball coach blew up the Internet, Lucas would best have been described as a “focus” candidate according to a well-placed source. He was rising to the top of a search that had been ongoing for several weeks, with Miami talking to agents and prospects who might have interest in the job.

Along the way schools like FSU and Indiana also came on the market for a coach and yes there is competition among schools for the top candidates out there. Miami had made several inquiries and was trying to move quietly toward a conclusion before hysteria really hits the coaching world at the end of the season. A decision had been made to escalate talks with Lucas’ representatives to see if there was the possibility that the deal could get done before an official “offer” of the job was made. Jobs don’t typically get offered that are not going to come to a positive conclusion. The plan was to talk specifics with candidates over the next week or two with a hiring coming at the end of the season.

Sunday it was becoming clear that those discussions with Lucas will now take on a new urgency.

Duke Coach Jon Scheyer was asked about the Lucas rumors Saturday night and truthfully or not expressed surprise.

“Any report or anything that’s out there, I’m just getting wind of it now,” Scheyer said. “We’ll cross that bridge and figure it out.

“Absolutely he’s a head coach, no question about it. It’s part of why I hired him. The job he’s done for us has been incredible…He’s been great for these guys. We’ll continue to move forward together and figure all that out. But he’s terrific, man. All across the board, he’s great.”

Duke is in the mix to win a national title this season. So there is no way Scheyer or the Duke administration, which also has millions of dollars invested in its current roster, is going to want the distraction of a pending Lucas hire lingering here for the next few weeks.

And that could have been what Saturday’s madness was all about. Obviously it leaked that Lucas had become likely to receive an offer from Miami disguised in word that it was a done deal. Either his representatives wanted to build the market for their client as contract negotiations began or someone at Miami wanted to reach a conclusion on whether he was going to accept the job and whether a contract can be agreed upon. It figures that one or the other are true.

Now add to the drama that Duke visits Miami on Tuesday night. There are a lot of reasons that a conclusion to this either with a Lucas hiring or a hard pass could come in the next 48 hours.

Lucas is one of the nation’s most coveted assistant coaches who does not have head coaching experience. Landing an ACC head coaching job would be a huge step for him, essentially circumventing the path most coaches have to take by proving themselves at a lower level.

He is considered one of the top recruiters in college basketball, 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 and he knows how to wield a strong NIL budget, which Miami will assuredly have to guarantee to a new coach.

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 have been on the Miami radar in recent days are New Mexico Head Coach Richard Pitino and George Washington Head Coach Chris Caputo, Jim Larranaga’s former lead assistant.

But right now the job looks like it is Lucas’ to seize as Miami made plans Sunday to see if that can be the conclusion to Saturday’s unexpected turn of events.