As expected, Duke associate head coach Jai Lucas finalized a contract with the University of Miami to be its next men’s basketball coach, according to multiple sources. An announcement is scheduled for Thursday morning. Lucas will be on the Duke sideline for the second-ranked Blue Devils’ regular season finale against rival North Carolina on Saturday night and is expected to be in Miami Monday for an introductory news conference.
The Hurricanes’ season finale is at home Saturday at noon against N.C. State, and they will not make the ACC Tournament as they dropped to 6-24 overall and 2-17 in the conference after Tuesday’s loss to Georgia Tech. The pressing question was whether Lucas, the 36-year-old son of former NBA star and coach John Lucas, would remain with the Blue Devils through the post-season, as the Blue Devils are a national title contender. He will not. Lucas will replace interim UM coach Bill Courtney, who took over on Dec. 26 after the unexpected retirement of Jim Larranaga, who led the Hurricanes to the Final Four in 2023 and the Elite Eight the year before that. Miami Columbus High coach Andrew Moran will be approached for a position on Lucas’ staff, according to multiple sources, as will Arkansas assistant coach Bruiser Flint, who was on Kentucky’s staff with Lucas from 2020-22.
As Lucas puts together his staff, Moran is a logical choice. Moran was hired at Columbus in 2019 and is about to complete his sixth season coaching the Explorers. He has guided Columbus to three consecutive state championships with teams led on the court by Cameron and Cayden Boozer, the twin sons of former NBA standout Carlos Boozer. Over that span, Moran has compiled a 136-32 record including a 107-13 record over the past four seasons since the Boozers joined the team. Prior to his stint at Columbus, Moran also won a state title coaching Miami Christian in 2015.
This season, Columbus is vying to become only the second team in Miami-Dade to win four consecutive state titles and are ranked No. 1 in the nation by MaxPreps. The Explorers are expected to be invited to Chipotle Nationals to compete for a national championship on April 3-5 in Fishers, Indiana. The Boozers, who signed with Duke University in December, were being heavily recruited by Miami before choosing to join the Blue Devils. Lucas is hailed as one of the nation’s top recruiters and was said to be instrumental in Duke signing the Boozer twins. He helped secure phenom Cooper Flagg, the nation’s No. 1 recruit last year. His recruiting skills will be vital as the UM roster is expected to undergo a complete overhaul. Lucas also is Duke’s defensive coordinator. He worked at Kentucky for two seasons as a recruiting coordinator and assistant coach before joining Jon Scheyer’s staff at Duke. Before that, he spent seven years at his alma mater, Texas, where he got into coaching as a special assistant, was promoted to director of basketball operations and then assistant coach. Scheyer was asked after Duke’s win over Miami last week what UM fans can expect from Lucas should he be hired. He said: “Jai is a special coach. We’ve been through a lot together for three years. He’s everything you could want. Attention to detail. Great with relationships. Great on the floor. He’s a great coach. Bottom line.”
Miami Herald Deputy Sports Editor Andre Fernandez and Steve Gorten contributed to this report
