Miami's Jai Lucas Explains What Lessons Can Be Learned After Loss To No. 10 Florida
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The Miami Hurricanes (3-1) suffered their first loss of the season against No. 10 Florida (3-1), but showed signs that this is a solid basketball team that needs time to figure out its offensive side of the ball.
Against the Gators, the Hurricanes shot 32.4 percent from the field, finished 15-27 from the free-throw line, and 5-18 from beyond the arc. The offensive concerns that worried some about this team reared its head, and first-year head coach Jai Lucas also noticed that as well.
This was a test for the Hurricanes, albeit a very early one, of how well they could compete across the country, and they showed flashes that they can.
"We knew that they were going to be good," Lucas said after the loss. "They were preseason top five. This was a great oppurtinity and test for us, especially this early into the season. We needed to see what the level looked like of an elite eight, final four caliber team looked like. Some lessons you can't learn until you see it. I think this is one we can see moving forward, especially having a whole new team with 12 new guys learning to play together."
Lucas knows that the offense could have been better, but was more disappointed in the team's free-throw shooting that killed their momentum on many occasions. Now the focus is on playing confident basketball and not being discouraged by the efforts.
"I thought when we played faster, when we played with pace, getting into our drags and playing into our transition stuff, we were able to speed the game up and get them running," Lucas said. "We weren't going to win the national championship if we beat them, and we weren't going to lose it did. You have a bunch of new guys in new roles, too. It's just understanding that it is a process and we have to get lost in the process of where we are going."
The Hurricanes will return home to face Elon on Nov. 20 at 7:00 p.m. ET as the Canes look to get back into the win column, knowing the style of play they must adjust to if they want to win at a higher level.
Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University and is the site lead for the Miami Hurricanes on SI. He can be reached at 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.