New Miami head coach Jai Lucas discussed the importance of keeping local players home, but it would have been against NCAA rules for him to answer the question of Michelle Kaufman of the Miami Herald if he planned to try and flip Miami Columbus twins Cameron and Cayden Boozer,
Cameron and Cayden Boozer signed with Duke in November. The primary recruiter for the Boozers was Lucas. The fact that the Boozers are from Miami and that Lucas was the primary reason they signed with Duke made the question about them potentially flipping to the Hurricanes inevitable.
Cameron Boozer is the second-ranked player, top power forward and player in Florida in the 2025 class. Cayden Boozer is the 22nd-ranked player, fourth point guard and fourth player in Florida in 2025. Duke currently has the top-ranked 2025 class. Miami lost its 2025 signees after the retirement of Jim Larranaga.
Miami could face an entire roster rebuild which Lucas also discussed on Monday. Lucas met with the team on Sunday. None of the frontcourt players on the 2024-25 Miami roster have eligibility remaining beyond this season. Convincing returning backcourt players to return for next season could help Lucas set the foundation for his first Miami roster.
"I can't speak on anybody who is signed, committed anywhere but you know one thing and it's just true moving forward is you always want to keep the best players home... That's what we'll try to do moving forward...With...the 2026 class...probably Florida has the best talent coming out these next couple years...building those relationships, getting them to understand the value of staying home...the value of coming to Miami, the development they'll get here and just really locking in on just locking down the state."Miami head coach Jai Lucas
Sophomore Paul Djobet, redshirt junior A.J. Staton-McCray (who took part in Senior Day), freshmen Jalil Bethea, Austin Swartz and Divine Ugochukwu all have eligiblity remaining entering next season. Lucas mentioned he will have conversations with players over the next two weeks regarding their future.
Players can officially enter the transfer portal on March 24 which is the day after the NCAA Tournament completes the first two rounds. There should be a mass exodus into the transfer portal with more to follow in the weeks after when the NCAA Tournament is complete.
The Boozer twins have not issued any statement regarding Lucas being hired by Miami or their future plans. Without a definitive statement, it should be assumed they are staying with Duke for now. Expect the majority of the 2025-26 Miami roster to be incoming transfers. Lucas said his expectation is he needs 13 new players.