AUSTIN, Texas — A former Texas Longhorns basketball player and coach is getting his first head coaching gig.
On Wednesday, it was announced that Jai Lucas would become the head coach at the University of Miami next season. He will succeed legendary coach Jim Larrañaga, who retired in December.
Lucas spent two seasons on the Forty Acres, playing for head coach Rick Barnes from 2009 until 2011. After a brief career in Europe and the then-NBA D-League, Barnes hired him to join the Longhorns staff in 2013.
Lucas then became an assistant coach under Barnes’ successor, Shaka Smart, staying with the Longhorns from 2016 until 2020 and earning a reputation as an elite recruiter in the process.
He was then hired to join John Calipari’s staff at Kentucky, where he spent two seasons before leaving for Duke in 2022, where he has spent the last two seasons. With his hiring in 2022, Lucas became the first Duke assistant in 30 years to be hired by the program despite never playing for it. He was promoted to associate head coach prior to the 2023-24 season.
Miami is expecting to formally announce Lucas’ hiring on Thursday, according to ESPN.