Jai Lucas, Miami Reportedly Agree to New Contract with Raise After 24-Win Regular Season

Miami is extending the contract of men's basketball coach Jai Lucas, according to the Associated Press' Tim Reynolds.

ESPN's Jeff Borzello and Pete Thamel reported the deal will run for five years.

As a private university, Miami doesn't have to disclose contractual terms for its coaches.

Lucas' extension comes after he guided the Hurricanes to a 26-9 record and an NCAA tournament appearance in his first season.

Hiring the 37-year-old was a bit of a gamble. His father, John Lucas II, was a longtime head coach in the NBA, and he had worked on the staffs of Texas, Kentucky and Duke.

Lucas had never coached his own team prior to his move to Coral Gables, though.

He had little trouble with the adjustment as Miami exceeded everyone's expectations. The Hurricanes made a 19-win improvement and posted the third-best record in the ACC (13-5) during the regular season. They went on to beat Missouri by double digits in the first round of the Big Dance before losing to second-seeded Purdue.

One downside of arriving ahead of schedule is that the expectations are going to be even higher in Year 2.

Building on Year 1 isn't going to be easy when Lucas had to replace three of his top five scorers: Malik Reneau, Tre Donaldson and Ernest Udeh.

Lucas got Miami native Caleb Gaskins, the No. 16 recruit in the country, to stay close to home, and he hit the transfer portal hard. Robert Morris forward DeSean Goode, Villanova guard Acaden Lewis and Michigan guard L.J. Cason are the headliners from that group.

Should the Hurricanes return to the NCAA tournament, giving Lucas a raise will look pretty shrewd because he's bound to garner interest from schools looking for a new coach next spring.