Duke officially announces hire of former Kentucky assistant Jai Lucas

On Friday, it was reported that the Duke Blue Devils were expected to hire Kentucky Wildcats assistant coach Jai Lucas to the same position on Jon Scheyer’s initial staff. Duke made that hire official on Monday, per The Athletic’s Brendan Marks.

Scheyer commented on the addition of Lucas to Duke’s staff in the release. He said that Lucas was everything Duke was looking for in an assistant.

“Jai embodies everything I was looking for in this role,” said Scheyer, via Marks. “I’ve been impressed by his winner’s mindset, great feel for the game, and strong work ethic. Through his impressive playing and coaching career, he has built extraordinary relationships across the basketball landscape and shown a unique ability to connect with student-athletes. I could not be more excited to welcome Jai, his wife, Kori, and his son, Jaxin, to Durham.”

Lucas is excited to be joining Scheyer’s staff at Duke, and he looks forward to being part of the first staff in the post-Mike Krzyzewski era.

“My family and I are excited to be joining the Duke University family,” Lucas said. “The opportunity to come to Duke and be a part of Jon Scheyer’s first staff was something I felt I could not pass up. I look forward to building on the foundation established by Mike Krzyzewski and the former Blue Devils, while helping Coach Scheyer usher in a new era of Duke Basketball.

“Durham is a special place for me, and I’m thrilled to get to be around so many of my family members.”

John Calipari’s comments on Lucas leaving Kentucky for Duke

After Lucas left Calipari’s staff at Kentucky to take the job under Scheyer at Duke, some might have thought that Calipari “pushed” Lucas out of the door with the Wildcats. The Kentucky head coach addressed those rumors on Monday, vehemently denying that Lucas was fired or pushed out prior to taking the Duke job.

Calipari joined a local radio show so that he could publicly state that Lucas was not forced out, instead saying that he wishes him well for doing what he feels is best for him and his family.

“First of all, I did not fire Jai and I did not force him out and I wish him well,” Calipari said, via KSR’s Tyler Thompson. “This is what he thinks is best for his program and I absolutely wish him well. We all should.”