8 hours Ago By Liam Willerup
The Miami Hurricanes shocked the college basketball world during the 2022 NCAA Tournament when they upset the Auburn Tigers led by Jabari Smith Jr. and made it to the Elite Eight before losing to the eventual National Champions Kansas Jayhawks. In the following season, the Hurricanes added more talent to their roster and made it back to the Elite Eight, but this time winning and making the Final Four during the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
Yet again, they’d lose to the eventual National Champions UConn Huskies. Ever since those stellar back-to-back seasons, it hasn’t been the same level of basketball in Coral Gables. Even after landing the highest-ranked recruit in program history in Jalil Bethea, the Hurricanes are one of the worst teams in all of college basketball this season.
Following the mid-season retirement of legendary college coach Jim Larrañaga, it appears that the Hurricanes have their next head coach. First reported by Peter Ariz and Canes Insight , sources tell Sporting News that Duke Blue Devils’ associate head coach Jai Lucas is the favorite and is expected to be Miami’s next men’s basketball coach. Barring any drastic changes or a big name entering the race, Lucas will become the program’s 10th full-time head coach.
Even though there’s speculation online about whether or not Lucas will assume the role, sources say that Lucas will be the next coach barring any drastic changes. A former D-1 guard for the Florida Gators and Texas Longhorns, Lucas has had coaching stops as an assistant with Texas and Kentucky before ending up with Duke. Lucas comes from a basketball family, as his father John Lucas II played 14 seasons in the NBA.
Lucas has gained a reputation as a strong recruiter at Kentucky and Duke, being the primary recruiter on notable five-stars such as Cooper Flagg, Shaedon Sharpe, and both Cameron and Cayden Boozer. With Lucas only being 36 years old, he’s less than half the age of Larrañaga, as he should be able to relate to the players more in this new age of college sports..
