‘Not ideal’: Why Miami’s pursuit of Jai Lucas as head coach complicates Duke’s title quest
Though he considers Jai Lucas one of his best friends, Duke basketball coach Jon Scheyer admitted the timing of Miami’s process of possibly hiring Lucas as its next head coach complicates his team’s sterling season.
“It’s not ideal,” Scheyer said Monday morning. “It’s not ideal by any means.”
With Lucas, Duke’s associate head coach, helping lead a defensive effort that has the Blue Devils (24-3, 15-1 ACC) expected to be a No. 1 NCAA Tournament seed next month, Scheyer is naturally concerned about the impact Miami’s head coaching search to replace the retired Jim Larranaga would have on his team.
Reports emerged Saturday night that Lucas is a top candidate for the Miami job. The Associated Press reported Lucas and Miami have agreed he’ll be the new coach but contract details had yet to be finalized.
His possible start date impacts how Duke proceeds, though. The last-place Hurricanes (6-21, 2-14 ACC) will finish their season March 8 because the bottom three teams in the ACC regular-season standings don’t qualify for the ACC Tournament.
With the next NCAA Transfer Portal window opening March 24 for men’s college basketball players, the pressure is on to have a new coach in place and working to begin building next season’s roster. At the same time, Lucas is a key part of Duke’s coaching staff.
“The portal is different,” Scheyer said. “This is a little bit of a different world. So anyway, I have a lot of thoughts, but I do know that Jai Lucas is the ultimate pro, a class act. He’ll do everything to handle this situation the best way possible, starting with doing his job coaching Duke.”
Scheyer said Monday he’s been in close contact with Lucas about the situation. The Blue Devils, after beating Illinois, 101-67, in New York on Saturday night, flew to Miami on Sunday ahead of their game with the Hurricanes on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.
That coincidental pairing of Duke and Miami for their lone ACC game this season only adds to the oddness. Lucas is actually preparing Duke’s scouting report to face the Hurricanes.
And yet, Miami would naturally want him to start as its coach as soon as possible if he is indeed its choice.
“Clearly, this wasn’t thought out well enough,” Scheyer said. “Jai and I, look, he’s one of my best friends in the world. Me and him are always going to be great. Me and him are always going to be able to navigate this. He’s a terrific coach, terrific person. But there’s more that’s involved than just Jai and I. You think about the Miami staff in the job they’re trying to do right now. The Miami players. Obviously, our players, what we’re trying to do. So our thing is to really block it out and stay in the moment until anything becomes final, or if and when that happens.”
Scheyer hired Lucas to join the Duke staff in 2022 shortly after becoming Duke’s head coach following Mike Krzyzewski’s retirement. Having previously coached at Texas and Kentucky, Lucas was a rare Duke assistant who had not played or coached under Krzyzewski when he joined Scheyer’s staff.
But, as Scheyer said Monday, Lucas joined with a goal in mind -- to win Duke’s sixth NCAA championship. Duke went 27-9 in each of Scheyer’s first two seasons, winning the ACC championship his first season and advancing to the NCAA Tournament elite eight last season.
This season’s team, though, is playing better than either of those did. With wins in their next three league games, the Blue Devils would clinch a share of the ACC regular-season championship. Bigger goals, like the Final Four and a national title, appear possible in March and April.
“I can tell you, Jai and I, we started this thing three years ago, our intention is to finish it,” Scheyer said. “But, again, I don’t want to get into that until I know when something is final or done. We’ll have to cross that bridge when the time comes.”