Miami and Jai Lucas interested in LSU guard who was a top-50 recruit in his class

Former LSU guard Curtis Givens III, a top-50 recruit from the Class of 2024, has entered the NCAA transfer portal and is drawing interest from several programs, including the University of Miami under new head coach Jai Lucas.

Givens, a 6-foot-3 point guard, played his freshman season at LSU, averaging 4.8 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 1.6 assists over 32 games, with 12 starts. He shot 26.9% from the field, 24.6% from three-point range, and 59.1% from the free-throw line.

Despite limited playing time and poor shooting, Givens showed flashes of potential during the season. According to Sam Kayser of League Ready, schools that have reached out include Maryland, Ole Miss, Memphis, Iowa, USC, Georgia, Villanova, BYU and others. Givens had two 15-point performances (career-high) last season. One of those games was against the University of Louisiana-Monroe where he also hit four shots from beyond the arc. The other game was in a loss against Missouri where he also had one rebound and one assist.

Lucas has been a master recruiter for the Hurricanes so far during his young tenure. In his opening press conference, Lucas emphasized the importance of keeping homegrown talent in the state of Florida and mentioned that Miami would need 13 new players for next year. That number proved to not only be a want but instead a need, after the entire 2024-25 roster either ran out of eligibility or transferred away.

Givens played high school basketball at Montverde Academy in Florida which is a program renowned for producing top-tier talent. He was ranked No. 42 nationally and No. 10 among point guards in the Class of 2024 by ESPN. Givens is highly-rated, a local kid, and has plenty of eligibility remaining. That is the exact kind of target that Lucas and his staff have been recruiting during this cycle.