Just A Minute: Duke's Success Puts More Pressure on Miami Head Coach Jai Lucas

With another Final Four appearance in the book for the Duke Blue Devils, their former associate head coach Jai Lucas will look to try and replicate that success for the Miami Hurricanes.

Jai Lucas walking through Watsco Center with his son after his first day with the Miami Hurricanes. | Miami Hurricanes Athletics

Jai Lucas is overhauling the basketball program for the Miami Hurricanes, but he has a large chip on his shoulder. He was a coach for the Duke Blue Devils, and that in of itself can bring pressure.

Think about the history of the Blue Devils and the number of draft picks and championships they have been able to produce in just this quarter-century alone. This year, they will likely have three players going in the lottery of the NBA Draft.

If you look at Miami, after this nightmare season, they would be pleased with winning 11 games as long as those signs of improvement are there. But that is not what Lucas wants to do. He plans on building a powerhouse in South Florida and has started quickly.

So far, he has done great in the transfer portal, bringing in top guys from programs like Michigan, Indiana, and TCU.

Miami Basketball Transfer Portal Recruiting Tracker

Bringing in talent is one thing, but winning is completely different. The Blue Devils reached the final four this season thanks to the elite recruiting and defensive scheme that Lucas built for them. That is what the new Hurricanes head coach would like to start building for the future.

He only has three players on his roster so far, but more players will start to enter the portal after Florida defeats Houston to win the national championship. Lucas now has some competition in the recruiting slugfest that will be in the state of Florida. His time to prove that he is an elite recruiter and one of the best rising coaches in the country will set a precedent for the program's future.

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