Reports of Duke basketball associate head coach Jai Lucas being set to become the next head coach at the University of Miami next season puts a strange feeling in the Blue Devils’ locker room, given it’s the middle of the season and Duke is looking to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament this March.
Scheyer first heard of the news after Duke’s blowout 110-67 victory over Illinois at Madison Square Garden this past Saturday.
“Any report or anything that’s out there, you know, I’m just getting wind of it now, so we’ll cross that bridge and figure it out,” Scheyer said after Saturday’s victory.
Scheyer had nothing but praise for Lucas after hearing the news of Lucas being Miami’s target, but there’s no question this whole situation can create a sort of “elephant in the room” type of atmosphere knowing Lucas is on the way out after the season’s end.
The Blue Devils head coach spoke with the Miami Herald at the ACC coaches conference call on Monday, and was asked about the strange feeling the situation brings along with Miami interim head coach Bill Courtney, who now knows he will not be retained as the head coach of the Canes.
“It comes with the territory of the job we signed up for, to be able to handle unusual situations,” Scheyer said. “Clearly, this was not thought out well enough. Look, Jai is one of my best friends in the world. We are always going to be great and be able to navigate this. He’s a terrific coach, terrific person.”
“But there’s more that’s involved. You think about the Miami staff and the job they’re trying to do, the Miami players and what they’re trying to do. Our thing is to really block it out and stay in the moment until anything becomes final, if and when that happens.”
Making the situation that much more ironic, Duke’s next matchup is in Coral Gables against the Hurricanes on February 25th. Miami is in the midst of a season to forget, currently 6-21 overall and 2-14 in conference play.
Scheyer spoke on the timing of the news of the hire and how it makes the transfer portal scene a lot more difficult for Courtney. The portal opens on March 24th, and Lucas will still be a part of Duke’s coaching staff as the program looks to make a deep tournament run.
“It’s not ideal by any means. I don’t think it’s fair to their players. But Jai is a stand-up guy and for now his focus is obviously on our team and prepping for Miami. It’s his scout. That’s what he’s prepping for, so we’ll be ready to go [Tuesday] night.”
Watch the Blue Devils take on Miami at 7:00pm ET on ESPN.
