Jai Lucas is truly a life-long basketball guy, and — at just 37 years old — he’s already making the most of his first head coaching opportunity.

About a year after Miami lured Lucas away from coach Jon Scheyer’s staff at Duke, just prior to the Blue Devils’ runs to the ACC Tournament title and the Final Four, Lucas has the Hurricanes in the 2026 NCAA Tournament after back-to-back misses at the end of the otherwise successful Jim Larrañaga era in Coral Gables.

“Not only will the team be relentless, but I will be relentless,” Lucas said at his introductory press conference. “I understand this opportunity. I have prayed and worked for this my whole life, and I will not take it for granted.”

As a child, Lucas moved from NBA city to NBA city as his father, former ACC superstar (at Maryland) John Lucas II, completed his lengthy professional playing career. John later coached in the NBA for more than two decades, including head coaching stints with San Antonio, Philadelphia and Cleveland.

Jai was once an elite basketball player, too. A member of the 2007 Parade and McDonald’s All-American teams, he started as a true freshman for Florida, but his college playing career fizzled after he transferred to Texas. After a brief pro career in the G League and overseas, he jumped right into coaching.

Lucas’ coach at Texas, Rick Barnes, gave him his first staff position in 2013, as a special assistant with the Longhorns. Shaka Smart then retained and promoted Lucas upon taking the Texas job in 2015. Lucas later worked as a top assistant under John Calipari at Kentucky, then under Scheyer at Duke, gaining a reputation as an elite recruiter along the way.

The awkward timing of his Duke departure (early March) came 100 percent with recruiting in mind. Last year’s NCAA transfer portal window opened March 24, and Lucas realized that if he didn’t take the Miami job until April, his first season with the Hurricanes likely would have been doomed.

Instead, Lucas’ first Miami team is built mainly on the backs of two of the top transfers and one of the top high school signees in the ACC this season.

Senior point guard Tre Donaldson (Michigan) and senior power forward Malik Reneau (Indiana) both blossomed quickly under Lucas and made this year’s All-ACC team. Freshman forward Shelton Henderson, who originally signed with Duke but got a release so he could follow Lucas to Miami, is among the top 10 rookies in the league.

The Hurricanes earned a #7 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and Lucas joined Scheyer (who won the honor) and first-year Virginia leader Ryan Odom as the three most popular candidates for ACC Coach of the Year.

“It takes a whole season to get there and get the guys to understand, but whenever you go into March, you want to be rounding into form,” Lucas said. “I think we’re rounding into form.”

2025-26 Miami Hurricanes
(25-8, 13-5 ACC; through March 19)

STARTERS

PG Tre Donaldson, Sr. (6-3/198) — 2025 Michigan transfer (starter)
34 mpg, 17 ppg, 4 rpg, 46% FG, 77% FT, 34% threes, 192/71 ATO, 44 steals, 7 blocks

G Tru Washington, Jr. (6-4/204) — 2025 New Mexico transfer (starter)
28 mpg, 12 ppg, 4 rpg, 45% FG, 74% FT, 37% threes, 48/43 ATO, 55 steals, 0 blocks

F Shelton Henderson, Fr. (6-6/240) — 2025 5-star HS signee; Houston (Texas) Bellaire
31 mpg, 14 ppg, 5 rpg, 56% FG, 59% FT, 27% threes, 66/59 ATO, 37 steals, 12 blocks

F Malik Reneau, Sr. (6-9/238) — 2025 Indiana transfer (2-year starter)
29 mpg, 19 ppg, 7 rpg, 55% FG, 79% FT, 35% threes, 66/91 ATO, 32 steals, 25 blocks

C Ernest Udeh Jr., Sr. (6-11/266) — 2025 TCU transfer (2-year starter)
28 mpg, 7 ppg, 9 rpg, 74% FG, 51% FT, 0 threes, 17/18 ATO, 32 steals, 45 blocks

KEY RESERVES

G Dante Allen, Fr. (6-4/220) — 2025 4-star HS signee; Montverde (Fla.) Academy
24 mpg, 6 ppg, 3 rpg, 43% FG, 59% FT, 30% threes, 62/28 ATO, 28 steals, 3 blocks

F Timo Malovec, Fr. (6-8/214) — 2025 international signee (Slovakia)
16 mpg, 5 ppg, 1 rpg, 35% FG, 71% FT, 33% threes, 29/20 ATO, 10 steals, 7 blocks

G Noam Dvorat, Jr. (6-5/213) — 2025 international signee (Israel)
10 mpg, 4 ppg, 1 rpg, 46% FG, 100% FT, 47% threes, 28/10 ATO, 10 steals, 0 blocks

F Salih Altuntas, Fr. (6-10/274) — 2025 international signee (Turkey)
8 mpg, 2 ppg, 2 rpg, 66% FG, 38% FT, 0 threes, 4/12 ATO, 7 steals, 13 blocks

Departures from 2024-25: F Yussif Basa-Ama (senior), G Jalil Bethea* (transfer/Alabama), G Jalen Blackmon (senior/Belgium), F Matthew Cleveland* (senior/G League), F Paul Djobet (transfer/UAB), C Kiree Huie (transfer/Eastern Washington), F Brandon Johnson* (senior/Hungary), F Isaiah Johnson-Arigu (transfer/Iowa), C Lynn Kidd* (senior/Turkey), PG Nijel Pack (transfer/Oklahoma), F AJ Staton-McCray* (transfer/Seton Hall), G Austin Swartz (transfer/Creighton), G Divine Ugochukwu (transfer/Michigan State).

*—2024-25 starter (started at least 50% of Miami’s games last season)