Duke head coach Jon Scheyer spoke to reporters on Thursday and discussed the timing of the departure of assistant Jai Lucas who was officially hired by Miami as head coach earlier in the morning. Scheyer supports the timeline of Lucas becoming the Miami head coach.
The regular season does not end until this weekend as Miami hosts North Carolina State and Duke plays North Carolina on Saturday. Scheyer acknowledged that the timing of Lucas' hiring is not ideal but that there was no other option. The blame for the timing is more on the NCAA than Lucas or Miami.
With Miami's season-ending Saturday, Lucas taking over as head coach on Monday gives him and the Hurricanes program a head start on recruiting players who enter the transfer portal. Duke is primed for a long run in the ACC and NCAA Tournaments as a number-one seed in both.
Lucas is an elite recruiter and the Duke defensive coordinator. Duke will have to adjust and Scheyer said the Blue Devils focus is on moving forward. That will be the same for Lucas with hiring a coaching staff and getting to work on assembling a roster for the 2025-26 season.
Jon Scheyer on Jai Lucas departure moments ago in Cameron. pic.twitter.com/SwADrpvZNz
— Blue Devil Nation (@BlueDevilNation) March 6, 2025
"Obviously with the news of Jai becoming head coach today came out...But for Jai...when he came here before I even coached one game as head coach...Really helped me build this thing...Timing is...not ideal. There's no other option. Jai will coach our last regular season game and...will have to move on to focus on his new job...This wasn't a decision that Jai made. This is me and him working together...there's a few unique factors...An assistant coach in a high major job...this is the first time in years not every team makes the ACC Tournament."Duke head coach Jon Scheyer
Miami hiring Lucas as head coach was first reported by Peter Ariz of CanesInSight on February 22. Scheyer and the rest of the Duke staff will have had about three weeks to adjust by the time the Blue Devils play their first game in the ACC Tournament next Thursday.
Lucas arrived at Duke to help Scheyer build the program in his image. Scheyer was on the Duke staff under Mike Krzyzewski and hired Lucas away from Kentucky after former assistant and Duke alum Nolan Smith left for Louisville. Lucas and Scheyer will now compete against each other as ACC rivals.
Lucas has a far bigger job than Scheyer with far less expectations and pressure. Michelle Kaufman of the Miami Herald reported on Saturday Lucas will hire Miami Columbus head coach Andrew Moran as an assistant. Moran's top two players Cameron and Cayden Boozer signed with Duke and Lucas was their primary recruiter.
Speculation remains on if the Boozer twins will stay with Duke or join Lucas and Moran at Miami. The rest of the staff will likely depend if Lucas targets coaches with teams who will play in the postseason unless they choose to leave their teams and join the Miami coaching staff.