MIAMI — The task is one Jai Lucas didn’t inherit but rather seized. And it’s a challenge with a place unlike any other in Miami sports history.

If the dizzyingly sudden, sharp fall of Miami Hurricanes men’s basketball is not quite unprecedented in this market, only one other collapse in memory is comparable to the Canes making their first-ever NCAA Final Four in 2023 and by ‘25 suffering the worst season in the program’s 63-year history.

The mind harks to baseball circa 1997-98 in Miami. The then-Florida Marlins rented a high-priced team that won the franchise’s first World Series in 1997, only to then dismantle the team in a notorious fire sale and finish the ‘98 season with an MLB-worst 54-108 record.

Then-owner Wayne Huizenga quickly sold what he had decimated, but it was enough to deeply alienate Marlins fans; Huizenga’s good name was ruined for much of South Florida. Dan Marino retired from the Dolphins soon after and introduced Huizenga, then still the Fins owner, at a stadium event in Marino’s honor. The booing at the mention of Huizenga’s name was so hateful that an embarrassed Marino had to beg it to stop.

One more analogy in the Marlins/Canes comparison: Lucas coming from a blueblood Duke program to UM hoops is akin to new Marlins’ manager Clayton McCullough leaving the champion LA Dodgers to take over the infamously cheap Marlins.

Though without the vitriolic controversy of a fire sale, this is the program-pinnacle-to-worst-ever rebuild Lucas takes on in Coral Gables, starting ceremonially Monday with his formal introduction on campus.

“We will be relentless in our attention to executing with detail,” Lucas said. “We’ll be relentless in everything we do, especially to create the same championship-level success here. I’ve dreamed of this moment my whole life, and this is exactly what it looked like. I’m grateful to the University of Miami for trusting me with the responsibility of leading this program into the new era of basketball. I’m sure a lot of you are asking, `Why Jai Lucas?’ and to answer that question you really have to know me. My whole life has prepared me for this moment. I became a coach long before I knew this was my calling.”

John Lucas, his father and former NBA player and coach, attended his son’s introduction and seemed moved to tears at times.

Jai Lucas comes from a basketball bloodline and arrives with the pedigree of having been an assistant the past three seasons at Duke, a cathedral in the sport. The Blue Devils perfume alone makes him seem like an excellent hire, pending further proof. So does Lucas’ reputation as a fierce recruiter — with his being young (36) and Black both assets in that.

Duke has been an Atlantic Coast Conference power for decades.

Miami wants to be one of those.

And UM just hired a guy who holds the map, and knows how to read it.

The Canes’ getting two wins away from a first national championship in ‘23 seems in retrospect like an anomaly in an odd season for college hoops. Miami had been mediocre at best three of the four seasons before that and has been bad since as doubts about the aging coach Jim Larranaga increased.

Larranaga abruptly retired at age 75 in the middle of this season, and all but admitted he was a coach losing gas as everything about college sports and hoops was accelerating in a new era of open transfer portals and the end of amateurism with NIL deals.

The old coach lost his touch with a sport that had changed around him, a sport he no longer recognized.

“After more than 50 years in college coaching, it is simply time,” he said in stepping down. “My heart is simply no longer in the game. I’m exhausted. I’ve tried every which way to keep this going.”

Miami athletic director Dan Radakovich in announcing Larranaga’s sudden retirement said: “Coaching in 2024 is a much different profession than it was just a few short years ago. The University needs a new leader of the program, one who is both adept at and embracing of the new world of intercollegiate athletics.”

When the long-rumored hire became official last week, Radakovich added, “It is clear that Jai understands what it takes to compete on and off the floor in this new era of college basketball and he sees the great potential at Miami.”

Enter Lucas, poised and ready for his first head-coaching shot based on every indication in his background and on his resume.

UM’s men just finished a 7-24 season (.226 win percentage), its worst ever. The 3-17 ACC record was its worst conference mark since going 0-18 in the Big East in 1993-94.

(The Miami women had a losing record, too, at 14-15, despite starting 11-1 under new coach Tricia Cullop. It was only the third time ever and first time since 2007 that both Canes programs had a losing record the same year.)

Unlike at Duke, nobody has ever claimed Miami to be a basketball town, especially one embracing of college hoops. The Final Four in 2023 did not change that. (Almost seems like it never really happened?)

Said Lucas: “I am incredibly grateful and honored to be the next head coach. Miami has everything you need to compete at the highest level — elite academics, a passionate fan base, and a commitment to excellence in athletics. Beyond that, the city has a rich culture and energy that makes this an incredibly special place. The history, diversity and passion for sports here are second to none. I look forward to building on an incredible foundation and leading this program into an exciting new era.”

An immediate and very encouraging sign: Lucas starts now. He is foregoing remaining with Duke through the No. 2-ranked Blue Devils’ ACC and NCAA Tournaments runs that figure to be lengthy. UM absolutely needed their guy in place now, with the sports’ transfer portal opening March 24.

Instead Lucas digs into his new challenge now, not later, and his task is both simple but arduous: Do what nobody has ever done in the program’s 63 years.

The Canes’ first great hoops star, future NBA legend Rick Barry, couldn’t do it. Coach Leonard Hamilton could not. And neither could Larranaga — not even as he came closer than ever just two years ago.

That task? Make Miami Hurricanes basketball so great and so big and so passionately held that it breaks through to a whole new level and top-tier matters in this traditional football town.

Welcome to Miami, Jai.

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