REPORT: Miami Officially Hires Jai Lucas as its next Basketball Head Coach
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Now confirmed by On3's Joe Tipton, the Miami Hurricanes have their next head coach as Duke associate head coach and monster recruiter Jai Lucas is set to take over the program starting next season.
Miami is hiring Duke associate head coach Jai Lucas as the Hurricanes next head coach, source tells @On3sports.
— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) March 5, 2025
Lucas, 36, joined Duke as an assistant in 2022 after a couple years under John Calipari at Kentucky. A native of Houston, Lucas also spent time at Texas as an… pic.twitter.com/XkfwLOo5Ry
It was first reported by Peter Ariz of CanesInSight, that Lucas has been seen as a wonder child in the coaching ranks. He is only 36 years old so a fresh and young mind with the Hurricanes along with his monstrous recruiting background brings a breath of fresh air to the program.
Lucas started out as a highly touted recruit to play under Billy Donovan for Florida. He was a McDonald’s All-American and played every game before he transferred to Texas where his coaching bug began to hit. After a short time, Lucas joined Texas’ staff as a special assistant in 2013. In 2016, named Lucas an assistant coach.
In 2020, he left to take a role on staff as a special assistant and lead recruiter for Kentucky. He stayed there until Duke head coach Jon Scheyer brought him aboard his new-look staff in 2022 after the retirement of Mike Krzyzewski. In 2023, Lucas moved up to associate head coach.
Now he will look to lead the Hurricanes to the future of the program and start with being some of the best talent inside of Coral Gables. He has a tall task but it can be done. His first presser is set to be on Monday according to reports as more on this story continues to break.
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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.