Report: Duke assistant Jai Lucas ‘top candidate’ for Miami head coach job, but no deal in place

Duke assistant coach Jai Lucas is a “top candidate” for the Miami head coach job, The Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman reported. However, there is no deal in place between the two sides.

Reports swirled Saturday about whether Miami was set to hire Lucas to replace Jim Larranaga. However, On3’s CaneSport reported the program has not yet made a hire and is still going through the process.

Duke is preparing to head to Miami for an ACC matchup next week. However, Goodman said he’d be surprised if anything came to fruition by then.

Lucas, 36, was an assistant at Texas until 2020 when he left to take a role on John Calipari’s staff at Kentucky as a special assistant and lead recruiter. He stayed there until Scheyer brought him aboard his new-look staff in 2022 after replacing Mike Krzyzewski. In 2023, Lucas moved up to associate head coach.

As a player, Lucas arrived at Florida as a highly touted recruit. He was a McDonald’s All-American as he made his way to Gainesville to play for Billy Donovan. He started all 36 games as a freshman, but only spent one year with the Gators before transferring to Texas.

With the Longhorns, Lucas made one start in his 58 appearances, averaging 2.9 points and 1.2 assists in his two seasons. He then began his professional career in Latvia with BK Valmiera from 2011-12 before returning stateside in the G-League with the Idaho Stampede. After stints with the Sioux Falls Courage and Canton Charge, Lucas joined Texas’ staff as a special assistant in 2013. In 2016, Shaka Smart named Lucas an assistant coach.

During his coaching career, Jai Lucas became known as one of the top recruiters in the country. On3’s Jamie Shaw also listed him as one of 20 assistant coaches poised for head coaching opportunities.

This story will be updated.

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