Top Duke basketball assistant coach leaving Blue Devils before ACC, NCAA Tournaments

Steve Wiseman, The News & Observer on Mar 5, 2025

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DURHAM, N.C. — One of Jon Scheyer’s top assistant coaches has a new job, just as the Blue Devils are on the verge of the postseason.

Jai Lucas, Duke’s associate head coach, signed a deal Wednesday to become the Miami Hurricanes’ new head coach, with an official announcement scheduled for Thursday, the Miami Herald reported.

Duke sources confirmed Lucas is taking the Miami job, and that he’ll not be with the Blue Devils in the postseason.

A Duke assistant coach since 2022 when he left Kentucky to join Scheyer’s staff, the 36-year-old Lucas will be a first-time head coach when he takes over the Hurricanes, who are destined to finish in last place in the ACC this season. Miami (6-24, 2-17 ACC) will not qualify for next week’s ACC Tournament in Charlotte, meaning their final game is Saturday at noon against N.C. State.

That means Lucas needs to get to work building his new team. The NCAA Transfer Portal window opens March 24.

Duke (27-3, 18-1 ACC) plays its final regular-season game Saturday at North Carolina. Lucas will be on the sideline that night, but, as the Miami Herald reported, a press conference will be held in Miami on Monday to introduce Lucas as the Hurricanes’ coach.

The Blue Devils, meanwhile, will be preparing to open their ACC Tournament play Thursday in Charlotte. Scheyer considers Lucas his team’s defensive coordinator, and Lucas has helped that defense play as well as anyone in the country this season. Duke is No. 4 nationally in defensive efficiency, according to KenPom.com.

That means the rest of Duke’s staff, including associate head coach Chris Carrawell and assistants Emanuel Dildy and Will Avery, will pick up things for the postseason as the Blue Devils chase the program’s sixth NCAA championship.

The son of two Durham natives, one being former NBA player John Lucas, Jai Lucas joined Duke after two seasons at Kentucky on John Calipari’s staff. He’d previously coached at Texas, where he also played during his college career.

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