“Last year is over. We got to take the next step”

August 17, 2026 -

Miami head basketball coach Jai Lucas appeared on The LeBatard Show last week. Coach gave his thoughts on last season’s historic turnaround, his five-year contract extension and the expectations for this coming season.

Surprised by the turnaround?

“I think everything surprises you as a head coach. You know, you prepare, you got your notes, you got all this stuff you said you'd do for years. And then when everything starts flying and everything comes towards you, you got to just kind of adapt and adjust on the fly. And I thought we did that a good job as a program. And I have a great staff that helped me a lot. And we had great players last year that were mature and older, and they were able to adjust and adapt as well. So, it made it a lot easier.”

On his expectations last season…

“That's right where I thought we would be. I thought with the roster that we built and what we were able to put together, it's just when it started to click and our season progressed the way it was. And then, you know, we get right there in the Round of 32 against Purdue, and we just kind of run out of gas. We played a smaller roster last year where you played really about seven guys, 30-plus minutes almost, and it showed up on the biggest stage. You grow and you learn from those experiences. But I would be lying to you if I said it was a surprise. I think it was a surprise for everyone else. But for me, I felt like that's where we were going to be.”

On the status of Malik Reneau…

“He’s in a court case. That's all I can kind of tell you. And we're still trying to figure out, like everybody. You see people signing these, but everybody's signing and picking these players without them being completely eligible, they're saying they're eligible, but they don't know. And I think Monday, after everything closes out, we'll have a better feel of exactly what this looks like. But we do have an open roster spot. We have one more spot that we have open that we can do something with. So we're just kind of just waiting and see what happens.”

On the state of college basketball…

“”It’s a day-to-day basis right now. I don't know what is going to come today that was not here yesterday. So I just got to take it in stride, and it's my job as the head coach of the University of Miami to always try to have us at the front of everything. And so that's what I try to do. The state of college basketball, I can't say the language on the show, but it's not in a good place. But we are trying to figure out what this is. My biggest thing is just tell me exactly what it is and what it's going to look like, and I'll go from there. But right now they can't tell you anything, so everybody's just kind of trying to guess, and we're just trying to be the best at guessing right now.”

On his five-year contract extension…

“I hope they enjoy having me here. I love being their coach. It's just taking it year by year. Last year is over. We got to take the next step as a program this year and then go from there.

GO CANES!