TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — As first reported by Peter Ariz of CanesInSight, the Miami Hurricanes are set to hire former Kentucky men’s basketball assistant Jai Lucas as the program’s next head coach.
Lucas most recently worked as an assistant coach at Duke under Head Coach Jon Scheyer, being the lead recruiter for elite recruits such as projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft Cooper Flagg, Cameron and Cayden Boozer, Kon Kneueppel and Khaman Maluach.
A native of Houston, Texas, Lucas began his basketball journey as a college player for both Florida (2007-08) and Texas (2009-11) after attending Bellaire High School in Houston.
Following his collegiate career, Lucas went undrafted in the 2011 NBA draft and began playing professionally in Latvia before bouncing around on G League teams until 2013.
He began his coaching career in 2016, first with his alma mater, Texas, as an assistant before he was offered a position on John Calipari’s Kentucky staff in 2020.
With Calipari, Lucas was named a special assistant and lead recruiter, helping Kentucky to land five different McDonald’s All-American or Jordan Brand Classic stars. Perhaps more controversial and debated, Lucas also played a major role in bringing Shaedon Sharpe to Lexington and developing Sahvir Wheeler and NBA draftee TyTy Washington Jr.
In the Commonwealth, Lucas was graded as the second best recruiter in the country, second to only Scheyer, who was then an assistant at Duke to the legendary Mike Krzyzewski.
Surprisingly, after just two seasons in Lexington, Lucas hit the road once more — citing family in North Carolina — to join the Blue Devils and Scheyer.
“Yesterday, Jai informed me he was taking a promotion at another school,” Calipari posted to social media after news was made public back in 2023. “I asked where and when he told me Duke, he expected me to be mad. I support what he thinks is best for his family. He’s been loyal, terrific on the road and great for our players. And I want what’s best for him. So I’m good with it.”
In Durham, it took one season before Lucas was promoted to associate head coach and 1 ½ seasons after that before he was back on the road for a new gig.
Lucas will become the 12th ever head coach of the Miami Hurricanes, the sixth since the program went on hiatus from 1971-1985.
The job became open earlier this season when legendary head coach Jim Larranaga, who led the team to the Final Four in 2023 and the Elite Eight in 2022, decided to step down and retire from coaching basketball.
Larranaga was 270-166 in Coral Gables, with the 2023 Final Four being the first in program history.
Being well-versed in bringing top tier talent wherever he goes, Lucas will look to return Miami to the Final Four and create a culture in a program that, historically, has struggled to solidify itself among the top teams in the ACC and sport more broadly.
