Jai Lucas’ Playlist is NBA YoungBoy & the Sound of Suffering

JAI LUCAS’ practices are LOUD, INFECTIOUS, & BUILT TO COMPETE WITH SATURDAYS

Football‑town energy with a Basketball‑Team brutality.

“Get back, get back, get back! Nice work Timo, Get a steal, beat him to the spot, great defense” 

For two hours that’s all you heard from Jai Lucas and his coaching staff inside of the Watsco Center at practice and it was harmonious.

The intensity was there, and maybe that’s why NBA Youngboy was playing to start the practice to set the tone.

Because they were playing defense inspired like they heard Youngboy himself say “Drop one, one down and we gone kill em all/Shoot you and yo boy and whoever around.”

There were no TikTok dances. Just 120 minutes of “Get the f**king ball”

Jai Lucas runs a tight ship — tighter than TSA pre‑check at MIA.

Practice was crisp, efficient, and somehow louder than Hard Rock on 4th down. Every player moved like they’d just been drafted into a secret government defense program.

THE TRENCHES MATTER

In the same spirit of NBA Youngboy, Miami made sure tha this roster who was a completely new canvas entering the season (no one is a returning player) they cared about building this team from the inside out and put a big focus on the trenches.

“Me and my n****s we come from the trenches/Walkin’ in public we strapped with extensions.”

Not those trenches, but still in the same spirit

Lucas said it himself:

“Most games are won in the trenches — rebounding and physicality.”

He built this team like an SEC defense: big, long, mean, and allergic to losing a box‑out.

He wanted “positional size” and “versatility.”

Translation: you’re getting screened by someone who benches your body weight.

THE players who fit the FOXHOLE PHILOSOPHY

“Everybody in the building is in the foxhole,” Lucas said.

And it shows.

The staff isn’t chasing vibes — they’re chasing blood pressure. Every rep came with shouting, collisions, and correction.

“Take care of the ball!”

“Go back — we just talked about it!”

This wasn’t practice. It was a controlled riot.

Ernest Udeh Jr. was at practice dunked everything like the rim owed him money. You name it he did it. Alley Oops, dunks from the pick and roll, and drop step dunk in the half court. It was beautiful to see and even more embarssing for anyone having to guard him.

Meanwhile fresmhan Dante Allen was a standout and he will be playing a big part in the season. You know how Udeh was dunking everything? Take a guess who was making those passes….it was Allen.

On the floor, Allen was everywhere. Whether it was dropping dimes, getting defensive stops, hitting threes and even getting to the. It might’ve been practice but he was one of the better players on the court, and easily.

Malik Reneau? Built like a hurricane shelter, moves like a running back.

The international crew — Timo Malevic, Noam Dovrat, and Salih Altuntas — already stretching the floor and bringing grown‑man European elbows.

Lucas said:

“Timo’s one of the best shooters on the team already …

Salah’s a mountain of a man.”

A mountain. Of a man.

That’s not a scouting report — that’s a national park warning sign.

“NO ONE KNOWS US YET.”

Lucas is fully aware Miami’s still a football town:

“No one knows the players. No one knows me. But they will.”

That’s the thesis.

He’s not begging for attention — he’s building something that earns it.

“You’re never gonna turn on the TV and wonder if Miami’s

competing. That’s a non‑negotiable.”

This isn’t a rebuild — it’s a bootcamp disguised as basketball.

Lucas has 8 freshmen, 11 new players, and one mission: make Miami hoops matter in a football city.

If you’re into soft practices, go watch pickleball.

If you want Foxhole Basketball, get your a** to Watsco.

Because Jai Lucas doesn’t coach a NCAA team.

He runs a war room.