Everything Jai Lucas Said Ahead of Renewed Rivalry Game Against No. 10 Florida

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The Miami Hurricanes (3-0) are taking on the best team in the state of Florida on Nov. 16 against the No. 10 Florida and they are ready for the challenge.

Head coach Jai Lucas has been proud of what his team has been to start the season, but knows that this is the real test to see where they stand ahead of a massive out-of-conference game against one of the best teams in the country.

The Canes are well rested and are looking to take the new energy over the edge as they prepare to defeat the Gators.

On Team Getting Some Needed Rest...

It's going good. You know, this was the opportunity to give him some extra rest, so we played on Monday.. Played on Monday, gave him Tuesday off for practice, Wednesday, gave him yesterday off, and then we'll start our prep for Florida today.  And we'll get ready for that. So today, and then we practice more travel, we'll get up there and then get ready.

On Florida being new...

I think that's the biggest thing is like all these teams this year. You know, you have some retention, but then also you have so much new and you know they lost three premier guards to the NBA, and they got two premier guards out of the portal. And I think there's still something new in the season.  Everybody's still getting to learn each other. But the one thing that you see is consistent is just their speed at which they play, their pace, playing and transition, their aggressiveness on the boards, both offensively and defensively, and then just their physicality. and their points in the paint, which is a big part of what they do.

On the Challenge of Thomas Haugh...

Yeah, it's a testament to him and his work and his development where he's gone from a forward to a parter player this year on and they play him primarily at the three, and it's made him even bigger, which is shocking to say.

But when you put him and Condon out there, you know, they have great size. So, just, you know, here's him and his development and the praise he's been getting is definitely, definitely he's earned it from his play and what he's been able to do these first couple of games.  So, you know, he presents a lot of challenges just because of his size and how they uses them. But, you know, it's our job to come up with a game plan and how to stop them.

On the Excitement of Playing Florida...

I think that's the biggest thing: we play to a certain standard, and we don't play to an opponent, so it doesn't matter if it's Florida or Jacksonville. I think the things that we believe and the things that we feel are true in our program and what we're building and developing here should stay consistent, no matter what.  But I'm also not going to sit here and be Joe Smo, and I think there's any extra emotion in the game against Florida and understanding this and state rival and defending national champions. So my staff's job this week is just trying to keep it as normal and as consistent as possible, so that it's just another game. In that sense, but also understanding that there is going to be some emotion tied into the game because it is our first opportunity against another hot major conference team on national TV.  So understanding that's going to be a part of it is what.

On how to Balance the Emotions with this matchup...

Well, I think it's just a step of a competition and a step up in competition in a sense of just the size that athleticism, the discipline and attention, and detail they play with.  So you really have to play at the same level or exceeded. If you want a chance to compete in the game. And so getting them to understand that and playing to what we preach and what we practice every day, I think, is the biggest part of the game.  And if we're able to do that, then we'll be able to be competitive, and hopefully give ourselves a chance to win it end.

On the level of offense that is playing...

I've been very pleased, so one thing that you always worry about as a coach, especially assembling a new team, and you can talk about it, you can practice it, you can drill it, you can do whatever, but you don't know until you play games.  And so I think that's one of the biggest things that we have carried over from the summer and the fall is just going from good to great. You know, Ben's giving up yourself to find someone else who may have a better shot, and being okay with it, and then celebrating each other's success is a big part of it as well.

On the Offensive Challenge Florida Presents...

I think one thing you watch them on film, and it's true when you really good teams is their pace on film is very fast. So that means in person it's even faster with the ability of their speed, they cut with their ability to go from one action to the next action. So what's really going on to put a lot of pressure on our communication and our talk?  And it's one of the things that I've been harping that I've been preaching on that has to get that. We have to do a better job of communicating on the defense and in the pace they play with and some of the stuff they run, you have to really communicate at a high level if you want a chance to stop on this long down. So that's the one thing and then, of course, just their offensive breout.  I think they're getting 23 a game. Offensive rebounds is like 21 second-chance points. It's a big key of why they are, who they are. So stepping up to that fight and being able to compete in five guys three now then is a big part of.

On the Depth of the team...

Everybody has to be ready. I think, like you said, because of the physicality, because of the pace of the game's going to be played at, because we want to play fast and we're going to still try to do what we do.  No, we're not stopping what's made us good and who we think we are. You know, we're gonna fight for that. So just coming in and everybody's ability to come in and contribute right away, it's going to be big.  Now, you don't know, like these first couple of games, guys that played kind of extended minutes off the bench in their role, and maybe cut a little bit shorter or maybe more. You got to wait till you get to the game to see how it's played, but everybody's got to be ready.

On What needs to be Fine Tuned on Defense...

One thing, I talk about just our communication, I talk, and you can get away with some stuff in some games that you're not able to get away with as you start to grow in the season. So getting them to understand that.  Part of that leads to your coverages. So ballscreen coverage, you know, part of the lack of communication makes the ball street coverage bad. So that's one thing.  And then just the one thing we always want to do is protect the pain and keep the ball out of the paint. So as much as we can protect the pain and be in rotations and be in our gaps and eliminate some of those dry lanes and penetration gaps, we want to. So those three things I think is we start to grow and become the team, I feel we can be, those will be the things that make a big jump.

On Tru Washington's Defense...

I think you know, a ball challenged him, and I've one of the best defensive guards in the country.  Now, I got to get him to fully buy into too, which is a big part of the Ko number. But if he saw himself as that, he could be with his size, with his athleticism, with his strength, with his ability to switch and guard multiple positions, he could do it. And then, my thing is not for him to do it in spurts, but to do it for 40 minutes.  When he starts to consistently put it together for 30, 40 minutes, or however long he's out there, he's a big part of why our defense will make a big jump and why I think we can be one of the best defensive teams in the country.

The Message to the Team On Being Disciplined on Defense...

You got to be ahead of the ball.  You can't play from behind. And one phrase that we use here is like, when the ball goes, you move, so you got to jump to the ball. And the best defensive teams are ahead of the ball.  And all on a string. Now, when we're delayed or we're being a little bit lazy and the ball moves, and we're still in the same spot, I never move, that's where our principal and our discipline falls. We have to do a much better job of being ahead of the ball.  And that's one thing that I really preached, because if we are ahead of the ball with our size, our athleticism, we'll be able to take away a lot of stuff. But right now we're not there yet. and we'll get there. They' not seen it.  And this is just part of our next girl, so we'll get to see against Florida where we are, but that's where we got to get to where we've got five guys playing ahead of the ball.

On Players Staying out of Foul Trouble...

Well, you know, this Ernest plays like he's a guard sometimes, and he's out there reaching and slapping and I'm telling Ernest, you're 16, they're going to see it.  You know, some of this stuff you can't get away with. So I think it's part of just building to discipline, but I also think it comes from where're not ahead of the ball and we're playing from behind a lot on defensive when you're playing from behind, at leads the fouls, it leads the breakdowns. It leads to being late and stuff.  And when you're doing that, it tends to get a lot of people in trial trouble because someone's now trying to overhelp or overrotate. That's not supposed to be their job and they just put them in a situation of something bad happening. And so getting everybody to play ahead of the ball and Ernest being a big thing with him being in coverage, ballscreen coverage through handoffs all this other this stuff.  He's one of the main culprits of playing behind the ball. So just showing him this, teaching it, drilling it, making sure we get to the point where it's something he understands.

On the Guard Play of Florida and the Challenge that Miami Faces

I think it is the one thing that is the unknown for both teams, is the best way to put it, because they have two new guards who are replacing. And, like you said, they're really good guards. But they just haven't and they're not going to look. on Sunday, but just haven't played like you know, they can play.  Like Boogie Fland, we' one of the best freshman guards in the country last year. Xavian Lee's been an Ivy league player to year caliber player the last couple of years. So you know what they're capable of, and they've showed it in spurts this year.  And I feel my guards are just as good. I like trade, I like true, and Dante, you know what I mean? In these battles with them.  So it's just going to be who can kind of become theirselves and stay themselves the most. You know, I like our matchup with our physicality and being able to play downhill and being able to guard and pressure and being who we are. I like the match up.  If I'm honest with you, because I like my guards.

On Malik Reneau...

You know, I need him to be who he has been and continue to be. I don't need him to play to the moment. I don't need him to be caught up in the emotion of the game, which he will be.  They all be. So we got to keep them as settled as possible, but he just needs to do what he has done. And of course, there's going to be some bigger bodies, so you got to adjust a little bit, but what we're asking him to do we're not going to ask him to do anything different.  We're going to ask him to do what he's been done, and it's my job to find the moments and the places and the spots in the game where I think he can be affected because some stuff that might have worked in these first three games may not work against Florida. So his ability to move them around the court, put them in different areas to find out where he can be successful.

On the Freshman Growth from Dante Allen and Shelton Henderson...

Not yet. Not yet. And, you know, it's 18-year-old kids' first three games of college basketball, so it's not there yet. They're doing a great job talking about it for both of them. They had a great spring, preseason, and a great fall. And the games are different.  You know, the games are different. There's a lot more mental stuff that goes into playing the game than practice. But they both, like Dante, show in the second game, just his ability to get downhill and his response, and I think Shelton showed in these the first and the third game, you know, just what he's been able to do in limited minutes.  

You know, he's been in foul trouble a lot. He hasn't been able to play extended minutes, but he's been able to still have an impact on the game. I think the biggest thing in watching both those guys in this game is just how hard and how long they can compete at the level of the game, of where it's going to be?  And for how many minutes consistently can they do it?

Like if Sheldon's going to be a person who plays, let's just say 32 minutes in this game of these 32 minutes, he's got to be a high level for all 322. And if he's able to do that, you know, for his first time in his bowman, would be something big and the same with Dante, you know, in his men and he comes off the bench and Emperor, his 20 plus minutes that he'll be out there, you know, how hard can he compete and how long can he stay engaged?  

You know, this game is going to be our first emotionally aware game where they're going to get tired in the first minute just because the adrenaline and stuff is a little bit more than expected. So understanding that and making sure we have our subs and our kind of rotations more, I guess, figured out than they have these first three games. It's just different levels of stuff that you just have to worry about when you get into these conference-level games.

On Playing Florida Consistently...

One of the first things I wanted to do when I got a job. I just think the importance of the in-state rivalry between you, the state school, Florida, and they just having been really good the last couple of years and winning the national championship for me, this is something I want to do every year. And we've talked about it with them, and we're still trying to, you know, I guess iron out some of the details, but just rotating it through the state.  So starting in Jacksonville and going to like Orlando or Tampa or, you know, Sunrise is going throughout the state and playing this game every year. I think it's important, you know, for both programs and just bringing basketball to the forefront in Florida. It's a big part of it as well, and just going all over the state and promoting a game, promoting a robbery.  They're really good, they will be really good. I think we're really good, and I think. I know we'll be really good moving forward, so why not?

On his time playing at Florida...

Yeah, you know, it's it will always hold a special place in my heart because I did go there and start my career there and, you know, spend some time there, and it was always good to me, and I understand, you know, the brand and the university and the city and everything that goes with it. I still, you know, will consider myself part gator, but more Longhorn than anything, but it was always a special place and a good place for me.  So I have no bad feelings about it, except I just want to beat them all Sunday.

Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University and is the site lead for the Miami Hurricanes on SI. He can be reached at Twitter @Justice_News5.