The uncontainable hype around Hurricanes football had seemingly reached its tipping point last weekend, extending nationwide after ESPN’s College GameDay rolled into campus on Saturday, hours before Miami routed in-state rivals Florida in a statement 26-7 win. The palpable buzz and excitement on campus spilled over into the Watsco Center Monday morning, where the men’s basketball team held their first practice of the 2025-26 season.
“Just seeing them put on for the city and dominate football games – it gives all the other sports confidence,” forward Malik Reneau said. The high-profile transfer from Indiana joined the Hurricanes in the spring by way of the transfer portal.
When asked if the football program’s recent triumphs had rubbed off on the team, Michigan transfer guard Tre Donaldson added, “It 100% helps. It’s a known fact – a good football program always helps the basketball program come basketball season…The energy definitely helps out basketball-wise.”
Donaldson and Reneau headline an impressive top-20 transfer class assembled by new head coach Jai Lucas, who inherited a complete rebuild after Miami failed to return a single player from the 2024 roster. The Hurricanes stumbled to a 7-24 finish that season under longtime coach Jim Larrañaga and interim Bill Courtney, with Larrañaga — the program’s all-time wins leader — stepping down in December after a 4-8 start. Named the 14th head coach in program history on March 6, 2025, Lucas immediately went to work reshaping the roster.
Both Donaldson and Reneau are Florida natives, an intentional choice by the former Duke associate head coach, who made it a point of emphasis to bring in people who could bond over their common thread of representing their state.
“A lot of us have played against each other or with each other…Me and Malik obviously playing with each other at Nightrydas…I feel like it’s a sense of pride playing for our state,” said Donaldson. “It’s actually not too hard to build chemistry because we were so close. Me and Malik, we’ve known each other for so long…it’s easier for us to build that camaraderie.”
TCU’s Ernest Udeh Jr., originally from Orlando, and coveted freshman recruit Dante Allen have also bought into Lucas’ philosophy, with Allen decommitting from Villanova to return to his hometown of Miami.
Allen in particular has drawn high praise from both teammates and coaches.
Reneau dubbed him as someone that has flown under-the-radar this summer and is poised to surprise a lot of people when the regular season arrives.
Lucas was also highly complimentary of the burgeoning guard from Montverde Academy, saying, “I’ve watched Dante play the last three years, saw the AAU teams he played on, and I always said if I was somewhere that he would be appreciated and valued, he’d be one of the first people I’d recruit.”
Allen, standing at 6’4, 220 lbs, ran a 4:56 mile during the team’s weekly conditioning — the fastest time Lucas had ever seen.
Being from Texas and playing at both Texas and Florida during his playing career, Jai Lucas understands the importance of playing for the honor of one’s home state.
“Just the pride…the pride in putting on the colors, the pride in putting on the U and knowing your family is going to be there every night…just adds a different level of competitive spirit to you,” said Lucas.
The new era of Hurricanes Men’s Basketball is set to begin on Nov. 3 at home against Jacksonville.