Jai Lucas reportedly signs deal to take over as Miami’s head basketball coach, won’t coach Duke in postseason

Miami has its next men’s basketball coach.

Duke assistant Jai Lucas has signed a contract to take over as Miami’s head coach at the conclusion of the regular season, according to multiple reports.

Per the reports, Lucas will remain on Jon Scheyer’s staff through the end of the regular season, but will not be on the Blue Devils bench in ACC and NCAA tournament play. Duke has one game remaining in the regular season, a road game against rival North Carolina on Saturday.

Duke and Miami could potentially meet in the ACC tournament, which would present an obvious conflict of interests. Lucas reportedly had a verbal agreement with Miami as of Feb. 23, but not a contract in place. He was on Duke’s bench for its 97-60 win over Miami three days later.

Lucas, 36, will become the youngest head coach in the ACC. The son of former NBA player and coach John Lucas II, Jai joined Duke’s staff in 2022 when Scheyer took over for Mike Krzyzewski. He works in backcourt development, recruiting and is the team’s defensive coordinator. He was promoted from assistant to associate head coach in 2023.

Lucas was previously an assistant coach at Kentucky and at Texas, where he played for two seasons as a guard from 2009-11. He’s coached under Rick Barnes, Shaka Smart and John Calipari and played for one season under two-time NCAA champion head coach Billy Donovan at Florida before transferring to Texas.

Lucas takes over a Miami program that lost longtime head coach Jim Larrañaga, who retired in December midway through the season. Former assistant Bill Courtney has worked as Miami’s interim head coach since Larrañaga stepped down.

Miami is in the midst of a 6-24 campaign, with a 2-17 record in ACC play that’s good for last place in the conference.

Duke, meanwhile, is one of the favorites to win the NCAA championship. It will play in the postseason without a key member of its coaching staff.