Jai Lucas has already exceeded expectations in Year 1 at Miami. The Hurricanes are now a 20-win team with a real NCAA Tournament resume, and national pundits are beginning to see Lucas as an awards candidate.
The latest boost came Saturday in Raleigh, where Miami stole a 77-76 win at NC State after scoring the final eight points of the game. Tru Washington's three free throws with 3.7 seconds left finished the comeback, and Malik Reneau's 26-point day kept Miami alive long enough to make it possible.
That win pushed Miami to 20-5 overall and 9-3 in ACC play. And with the victory coming after Miami defeated UNC, the national recognition is pouring in.
John Fanta highlights Jai Lucas and Miami
College basketball broadcaster John Fanta said Lucas is "on my radar for the Naismith Coach of the Year," and added, "when we put those lists together, he's one of my 15 names."
The Naismith Men's Coach of the Year watch list is scheduled to drop Feb. 20, so Lucas is surely peaking at the right time.
The case for Lucas is pretty clear when you consider where the Hurricanes were last year. Miami is coming off a 7-24 season in 2024-25, a year that included Jim Larranaga stepping down in late December and Bill Courtney taking over as interim coach. Miami was a program in limbo. Lucas then inherited it, rebuilt it quickly with a completely new team, and has the Hurricanes winning at a pace that should put them in the NCAA Tournament.
Miami hired Lucas last March, pulling him from Duke, where he had been an assistant and later associate head coach.
Next up is a chance to keep showing the college basketball world that Miami is the real deal. The Hurricanes come back home Tuesday night against Virginia Tech, then head out for a stretch at Virginia and at Florida State.