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Potential major developments could be coming together as Miami and Jai Lucas work toward an agreement

Gary-Ferman-Head-Shot 2by:Gary Ferman•about 14 hours•

CaneSport

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There was a lot of tension in the postgame aftermath at the Watsco Center Tuesday night after Duke’s blowout victory over Miami.

Nobody was denying that Duke assistant Jai Lucas was in serious talks to become Miami’s next basketball coach. The Duke side had clearly gone into damage mode with head coach Jon Scheyer politely talking about an assistant that he called one of his best friends and complimenting Lucas as a coach.

But when questions about Lucas went beyond that, Scheyer and Duke administrators quickly shut them down. Players were not allowed to discuss the impending departure of the coach who had recruited many of them and helped develop them over three years.

There was sufficient reason for the tension. Speculation has already started running through basketball circles that the famed Boozer twins, Cayden and Cameron, from Miami Columbus High, presently competing for a state title and recruited to Duke by Lucas, might consider playing for a Miami team coached by Lucas instead. Miami and Duke battled to land their commitments before the duo chose their dad Carlos’ Alma mater, Duke.

“You are talking about the best player in the country,” one NBA scout told CaneSport of Cameron Boozer.

Photo of Cameron (left) and Cayden Boozer by Mark J. Rebilas | USA TODAY Sports
Photo of Cameron (left) and Cayden Boozer by Mark J. Rebilas | USA TODAY Sports

Further rumors have caught fire about coaches who might join Lucas in Miami if he lands the job.

Samurai Hoops is an entity that tweets rumors but Tuesday night transmitted the following.

Andrew Moran is the head coach at Miami Columbus, a major part of the development of the Boozer twins.

James “Bruiser” Flint is the former head coach at Drexel who is currently on the staff at Arkansas. He was on John Calipari’s staff at Kentucky three years ago with Lucas before Lucas moved to Duke. Flint was Calipari’s successor at Massachusetts after being on his staff for seven years. Flint spent the 2020-21 season as a Kentucky assistant before becoming associate to the head coach and later moving to Arkansas with Calipari.

Buffington is in his second season as the Texas Tech men’s basketball General Manager. One of the most respected grassroots basketball organizers in the country, Buffington arrived at Tech after founding and operating TheTB5Reports in Dallas and helped the Red Raiders advance to the 2024 NCAA Tournament in his first season. 

Rachel Baker was hired to the newly-created position of general manager for Duke basketball in June 2022. She helps players enhance their personal and professional skill sets, capitalize on strategic partnerships, including NIL opportunities, and works to support players.

CaneSport has confirmed that Moran is part of Lucas’ plan should he become Miami coach. Moran had tried to get Jim Larranaga to hire him in the past.

Lucas has built a reputation as a defensive wizard, which Miami got a first-hand look at Tuesday night. He has helped the Blue Devil team rank in the top-5 of several defensive categories. Miami players struggled for quality shots throughout Tuesday night’s game.

Lucas also is considered one of the best assistant coach recruiters in the country. At Duke, he brought in Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel and landed the Boozer twins for next year’s class. You have to acknowledge that Duke does in a large part recruit itself, but Lucas’ role in it is undeniable.

So there is an obvious multi-layered plan coming together and out of respect for Duke and the fact that the Blue Devils were playing Miami on national television Tuesday night and are unquestionably in the mix for a national championship, talks between Miami and Lucas had been put somewhat on hold.

That all changed over the weekend when word leaked that Lucas was the focus candidate of Miami’s search. With Tuesday night’s game out of the way and this all becoming an obvious distraction at Duke, the hiring of Lucas is expected to now accelerate. A source told CaneSport Tuesday night that it was probably a couple days away from happening.

Scheyer was also discussing the rumors on Lucas in different terms.

“Coach Lucas is the best,” Scheyer said. “Think these guys (Duke’s players) will tell you the impact he’s made. It’s not our news to share (that he’s taking the Miami job). We don’t know. This is not our news to share. We’ll let Miami handle that.”

It is becoming clear that Miami is on track to have a lot to handle in the coming days as it works to resuscitate a basketball program that was in the Final Four in 2023 and right now is reeling after Larranaga’s hasty retirement and a horrible season.

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