New Miami Hurricanes Coach Jai Lucas Gives His Three Keys to a Successful Program
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There are a few keys to having a successful basketball program in the ACC. New Miami Hurricanes head coach Jai Lucas has given his three key points in building a powerhouse as he takes control of this troubled program once in the Final Four.
Ready to welcome our guy to the 305 🙌 pic.twitter.com/dpyhmzugFA
— Canes Men’s Basketball (@CanesHoops) March 6, 2025
"Three things that we really value in our program are relationships, development, and competition," Lucas said.
If he decides to bring back the six available Hurricanes that could return next season, he also has some of those key points taken care of. Relationships would be solid because of the history with the players and the new players that will be brought in. Development is the key in equations especially with the current freshman Jalil Bethea, Divine Ugokchugo, and Austin Swartz showing signs of growth towards the end of this season.
Recruiting will also take an interesting turn because of the commits that have been released from their letter of intent. The Hurricanes now don't have a single high school player coming out in this class.
The competition will not be hard to develop considering that the Hurricanes compete hard nightly. The issue all season has been an inconsistent defense and the defensive mindset that Lucas has will force anyone at this level to compete.
Easy to say that Lucas can come in completely clean or use some of the talent that is still here to try and rebuild the program in the way he sees fit. Only time will tell after the season ends on Saturday for the Miami Hurricanes when they take on NC State at home.
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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.