Hurricanes head coach Jai Lucas is not only winning fast at such a high-level program like the Miami Hurricanes, he’s already hitter milestones.

The one-year Hurricanes head coach, who hasn’t even been at Miami for a full year, has already racked up 20 wins over the course of 25 games.

Jai Lucas is the fastest first-time head coach in the ACC to reach 20 wins since Bill Guthridge at UNC in 1997-98.



Bill Guthridge you may ask? UNC legend. Took over from Dean Smith in ’97 and went 39-17 in just two seasons. Back-to-back Final Fours, a trip to the national title game in ’98.

That’s the bar Jai Lucas is already chasing in the ACC.

Many fans, maybe even the national media, were questioning this hire for the Miami Hurricanes. Why not go the easy route and get a head coach already ready?

Nope. The Hurricanes chose the Duke associate head coach, and it’s worked out incredibly well.

Like I said, Lucas hasn’t even been here for a full year yet. He already brought in a top-15 portal class last season, is currently ranked inside the top-15 for the 2026 class, and is winning on the court.

In the span of just seven days, Lucas took down the No. 11 team in the country at North Carolina, never giving up the lead, and then outcoached Will Wade, who had been a great coach at McNeese State before moving to NC State, in the final minutes of the game, giving up just seven points in the matter of a minute.

Let’s be honest with a show of hands, who really expected us to be this good, especially being out Marcus Allen, who’s a solid depth piece? Not many, I guess. I was looking at maybe 18-19 wins, but nope, we’re on track to possibly win 22, 23, or maybe even 24 games this season.

Heck, I love it though. Go Canes, and go Jai Lucas!

 

This article required a proof read before posting. The first line doesn't even make sense, if you can say.

 

I wouldn't call Guthridge a legend, he was a career assistant that moved up after Dean Smith retired. He was a steady hand, but there's a reason why he was out after three years, he was supposed to be a bridge and was exactly that. By the way, he inherited a loaded program from Dean, and there was legit erosion during his tenure. UNC dropped out of the polls for a minute in his final season, that Final Four run was insane because they weren't great in the regular season.

It's amazing what Coach Lucas has done, especially when you look at the roster. Miami has a rotation of 6 guys that can actually play legit minutes and not be completely lost, seven if you include 88 who can at least hit a shot here and there. Outside of that, Miami has absolutely nothing. This team is mentally tough and competes. They are frustrating to watch, because they don't do any of the small things well(FT shooting, defensive rotations, etc), but they find a way to stay in the fight, and if you are in the fight at the end, you always have a chance to win.

 

Do whatever it takes to keep this man in Coral Gables