Jai Lucas and the Miami Hurricanes Have an Aligned Vision for the Future
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It is officially official. Duke associate head coach Jai Lucas has been named the next Miami Hurricanes head coach for men's basketball.
As the successor of Jim Larranga, he has the vision and plan to make the Hurricanes one of the premier programs in the country and it all starts with him being intrigued with the team.
"Well the first thing that intrigued me the most was once I got to meet all the people that were involved with making the decision it kind of made me feel like I was at home," Lucas said.
Ready to welcome our guy to the 305 🙌 pic.twitter.com/dpyhmzugFA
— Canes Men’s Basketball (@CanesHoops) March 6, 2025
He loved the passion that he received when he first met the powers that be. It was one of the key sticking points that made his decision to be the next head coach very easy.
"My first impression was just the passion," Lucas said. "The passion that is down there for the University of Miami of all the athletics but especially basketball. And their kind of vision of the program where they want the program to go moving forward in this new era, aligned with my vision."
In this new era and with the power of NIL, UM has all the assets in the world to bring in the top talent from around the country and throw as much money at the wall as they can to get something to stick. Coming from Duke, Lucas also has the same vision for the future.
His first step is to get his staff to prepare for the new season and era. Then having the right players to connect all together.
"First thing is making sure that I have the staff that is aligned with me and vision, Lucas said. "Making sure I get the right people around me and around the players. And then also for me is getting the right players. People I like to consider, I want to be the most connected program in the country. Making sure we get our recruit connectors is what I like to call them. People who are aligned with our culture."
Exciting times in Coral Gables for the future of the UM basketball program as they prepare for their final game of the season against NC State at home one last time before the revamp begins.
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Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University and is the site lead for Miami Hurricanes on SI. He can be reached at justice.sandle111@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter@Justice_News5.
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Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University earning a Bachelor of Arts and Science in Communications with a concentration in Print and Digital Journalism. During his time in Starkville, he spent a year as an intern working for Mississippi State On SI primarily covering basketball, football, baseball, and soccer while writing, recording, and creating multimedia stories during his tenor. Since graduating, he has assumed the role of lead staff writer for Miami Hurricanes On SI covering football, basketball, baseball, and all things Hurricanes related.