Duke Basketball Coach: Staff Situation ‘Not Thought-Out Well Enough’
Since hours before the Duke basketball team’s 110-67 win over Illinois in Madison Square Garden on Saturday night, several outlets have reported that Blue Devil associate head coach Jai Lucas is finalizing the details to become the Miami Hurricanes head coach.
Coincidentally, the Blue Devils (24-3, 15-1 ACC) are heading to Miami to face the Hurricanes (6-21, 2-14 ACC), under interim head coach Bill Courtney, at 7 p.m. ET Tuesday (ESPN).
During the weekly ACC teleconferences on Monday morning, third-year Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer detailed his primary thoughts on the ill-timed reports, neither confirming nor denying that his coveted third-year staff member is soon bound for Miami:
“One, it comes with the territory of the job we signed up for, to be able to handle unusual situations well. You know, this is what we signed up for.
“Two, clearly this wasn’t thought-out well enough.
“And Jai and I, like, he’s one of my best friends in the world. Me and him are always gonna be great. Me and him are always gonna be able to navigate this. He’s a terrific coach, a terrific person.
“But you know, there’s more that’s involved than just Jai and I. You know, you think about the Miami staff and the job they’re trying to do right now, the Miami players — obviously our players and what we’re trying to do.
“So, our thing is to really block it out and stay in the moment until anything becomes final — or if and when that happens.
“But it’s not ideal…It’s not ideal by any means. I don’t think it’s fair to their players. And Jai is the standup guy. So, for him right now, like, his focus is obviously on our team and prepping for Miami. Like, it’s his scout. That’s what he’s prepping for.
“And so for us, we’ll be ready to go tomorrow night. Ton of respect for Miami’s players, their staff, but I think it’s the day and age we’re in of going forward where I don’t know about the timing and how that’s going to operate, but the portal is different now.
“You know, like, this is a little bit of a different world.
“Anyway, I have a lot of thoughts. But I do know that Jai Lucas is the ultimate pro, a class act. He’ll do everything to handle this situation the best way possible, starting with doing his job coaching for Duke.”
