The 2025-26 Hurricanes basketball season was a major step in the right direction for the program. Miami won 26 games in Jai Lucas' first year, made the NCAA tournament and got to the second round. A year earlier, Miami was 7-24, and now the question is not whether Lucas can get the program turned around, but whether Miami can keep going after the roster loses some pieces.
Miami is losing the core of the team
Tre Donaldson, Malik Reneau and Ernest Udeh Jr. are all seniors, and that trio is what really helped turn Miami into a tournament team. Donaldson put up 16.4 points and 5.7 assists per game, Reneau logged 18.9 points per game and Udeh was Miami's leader in rebounds (9.2) and blocks per game (1.4).
In Miami's first-round NCAA tournament win over Missouri, Reneau had 24 points, Donaldson made five 3-pointers and Udeh pulled down 10 rebounds.
Add Tru Washington to the list of departures
Guard Tru Washington is planning to enter the transfer portal. Washington averaged 11.9 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game (team-high).
Before the Washington news, there was at least a reasonable argument that Miami had a nice base of returning players. Shelton Henderson and Dante Allen are the young building blocks, but Washington looked like the older backcourt piece who could help hold the next team together. Now Lucas is going to have his work cut out for him.
What Miami has coming back right now
- Shelton Henderson (13.8 points and 4.9 rebounds per game while shooting 56.7% from the field).
- Dante Allen is returning and looks to take another step in his development.
- Lucas still has to sort through the rest of the eligible returners.
- 5-star Caleb Gaskins is a likely to be an early contributor.
Miami is expected to attack the portal again after Lucas built a team from scratch a year ago. The good news is that he has already shown he can build fast.