Jai Lucas
{{Short description|American basketball player (born 1988)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name = Jai Lucas
|
| caption = Lucas with Texas in November 2010
| position = Head coach
| height_ft = 5
| height_in = 10
| weight_lb = 160
| league = Atlantic Coast Conference
| team = Miami Hurricanes
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1988|12|5}}
| birth_place = Houston, Texas, U.S.
| highschool = Bellaire (Houston, Texas)
| college =
| draft_year = 2011
| career_start = 2011
| career_end = 2013
| career_number =
| career_position = Point guard
| coach_start = 2016
| years1 = 2011–2012
| team1 = BK Valmiera
| years2 = 2012–2013
| team2 = Idaho Stampede
| years3 = 2013
| team3 = Sioux Falls Skyforce
| years4 = 2013
| team4 = Canton Charge
| cyears1 = 2016–2020
| cteam1 = Texas (assistant)
| cyears2 = 2020–2022
| cteam2 = Kentucky (assistant)
| cyears3 = 2022–2023
| cteam3 = Duke (assistant)
| cyears4 = 2023–2025
| cteam4 = Duke (associate HC)
| cyears5 = 2025–present
| cteam5 = Miami (FL)
| highlights =
- Second-team Parade All-American (2007)
- McDonald's All-American (2007)
}}
Jai Powell Lucas (born December 5, 1988)[https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/36382/jai-lucas Jai Lucas Stats, Bio – ESPN] is an American basketball coach and former player. He is the head coach of the Miami Hurricanes men’s basketball team.{{cite web | last=Connelly | first=Kevin | title=NCAA deserves biggest blame in mess surrounding Duke basketball and Jai Lucas | website=Ball Durham | date=March 6, 2025 | url=https://balldurham.com/ncaa-deserves-biggest-blame-in-mess-surrounding-duke-basketball-and-jai-lucas | access-date=March 7, 2025}} He played college basketball for the Texas Longhorns.
Playing career
As a 5’10” point guard in the Houston suburb of Bellaire, Lucas was a McDonald's All American and was rated 20th by ESPN in the high school class of 2007.[https://www.espn.com/college-sports/news/story?id=2781843 ESPN - Rosters set for 2007 McDonald's All-American Games - College Sports] Lucas was initially recruited to play for the University of Florida. Lucas averaged 8.5 points and 2.3 assists per game during his freshman year. Prior to his second season with the Gators, Lucas announced he would transfer and, as per NCAA rules at the time, would sit out the 2008–09 season. A month later, he announced he would next play for the University of Texas.[https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/news/story?id=3684583 Lucas decides to transfer from Florida] He played two seasons for the Longhorns, averaging about 3 points and 1 assist per game.
Lucas's pro career lasted from 2011 and 2013 and included one season with BK Valmiera, then stints in the G League with the Idaho Stampede,[http://www.nba.com/dleague/idaho/carlon_brown_trade_2013_01_02.html STAMPEDE TRADE FOR BROWN, DRAFT PICK] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714201715/http://www.nba.com/dleague/idaho/carlon_brown_trade_2013_01_02.html |date=July 14, 2014 }} the Sioux Falls Skyforce,[http://www.nba.com/dleague/siouxfalls/lucas_130111.html Skyforce Acquires Lucas] and the Canton Charge.[http://www.nba.com/dleague/canton/news/charge_acquire_jai_lucas_2013_03_30.html Charge Acquire Jai Lucas]
Coaching
In August 2013, almost immediately after leaving his last pro team, the Texas Longhorns hired Lucas as an assistant coach on the staff of Rick Barnes. Lucas assisted in all internal operations of the basketball program.{{cite web | last=Eberts | first=Wescott | title=Jai Lucas joins Texas staff as special assistant | website=Burnt Orange Nation | date=August 15, 2013 | url=https://www.burntorangenation.com/2013/8/15/4625538/jai-lucas-special-assisatnt-texas-longhorns-basketball | access-date=March 10, 2025}} Lucas was retained by Barnes' successor, Shaka Smart, in 2015.
Lucas was hired by John Calipari in 2020 to be a special assistant and lead recruiter at the University of Kentucky.{{cite web|url=https://ukathletics.com/news/2020/8/31/jai-lucas-added-to-uk-mens-basketball-staff.aspx|title=Jai Lucas Added to UK Men's Basketball Staff|work=Kentucky Wildcats|date=August 31, 2020|accessdate=December 4, 2020}} During the 2021–22 season at Kentucky, Lucas was rated the second best recruiter in the country, behind only Jon Scheyer, who was the associate head coach at Duke.{{cite web|last=Pilgrim|first=Jack|url=https://kentuckysportsradio.com/basketball-2/jai-lucas-on-caliparis-shuffling-of-coaching-roles-we-have-to-stay-ahead-of-the-curve/|title=Jai Lucas on Calipari's shuffling of coaching roles: "We have to stay ahead of the curve"|work=Kentucky Sports Radio|date=November 2, 2020|accessdate=December 4, 2020}}
After Scheyer took over as the Duke head coach at the end of the 2021–22 season, he hired Lucas as an assistant coach, the first Duke assistant who hadn't played for the Blue Devils in 30 years.
On March 6, 2025, Lucas was named head coach of the Miami Hurricanes.
Family
Lucas is from a well-known basketball family. His father, John Lucas II, was an All-American at Maryland who went on to a 14-year career in the NBA and was later head coach of three NBA teams. His older brother, John Lucas III, was a star at Baylor and Oklahoma State who played two seasons for the Houston Rockets, then continued his career in Italy, and most recently played for the Minnesota Timberwolves.Lucas O'Neill, [https://archive.today/20120717222625/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/web/COM1048119/index.htm "Profile: Jai Lucas (Bellaire, Texas)"], Sports Illustrated, December 5, 2006.
Head coaching record
{{CBB Yearly Record Start | type = | conference = | postseason = | poll = }}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
| name = Miami Hurricanes
| conference = Atlantic Coast Conference
| startyear = 2025
| endyear =
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2025-26
| name = Miami
| overall = 0–0
| conference = 0–0
| confstanding =
| postseason =
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
| name = Miami Hurricanes
| overall = {{Winning percentage|0|0|record=y}}
| confrecord = {{Winning percentage|0|0|record=y}}
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record End
| overall = {{Winning percentage|0|0|record=y}}
| poll =
| polltype =
}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.texassports.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/lucas_jai00.html Texas Longhorns bio]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20130205215628/http://www.nba.com/dleague/playerfile/jai_lucas/ NBA D-League Profile]
{{Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball coach navbox}}
{{Miami Hurricanes men's basketball coach navbox}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lucas, Jai}}
Category:American expatriate basketball people in Latvia
Category:American men's basketball players
Category:Basketball coaches from Texas
Category:Basketball players from Houston
Category:Canton Charge players
Category:College men's basketball head coaches in the United States
Category:Duke Blue Devils men's basketball coaches
Category:Florida Gators men's basketball players
Category:Idaho Stampede players
Category:Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball coaches
Category:McDonald's High School All-Americans
Category:Miami Hurricanes men's basketball coaches
Category:Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball)
Category:Sioux Falls Skyforce players