Together Baby, There's Nothing We Won't Do

You know those stories that you just have to take with a grain of salt? Those stories that end up in disappointment when their supposed words of truth never come to fruition?  This might be one of those stories, but it's an exciting and noteworthy one nonetheless.

Is former Florida point guard Jai Lucas transferring to the University of Miami?     Go ahead and check out an exclusive story on Rivals if you find yourself intrigued by the possibility.  This is huge news for a program gaining more notoriety by the day.    

Lucas made his decision before the season to transfer from Florida, and has not played a minute for the Gators this year.  Lucas had hoped to lock down the starting point guard position for the Gators, but Nick Calathes and UF commit/phenom Kenny Boynton seem to have put a serious dent in those plans.

"On any team, there's a little bit of give and take by everybody," said Coach Billy Donovan about his guard's transfer.  "I don't blame Jai.  He's got to be happy.  There's no reason to go through your career and say, 'Hey I'm unhappy everyday coming to practice.'"  

Lucas average 8.5 points and 2.3 assists as a freshman for the Gators last season, starting every game of the season.   

"It's something you don't really plan," Lucas said in an interview. "Sometimes you have to do things you don't want to do, but it will be best for me in the long run."  

So where does that leave Miami?  According to the article, Lucas wants to remain in Florida.  Indeed this only adds to the idea that the Hurricanes actually have a recruiting class of three (Donnavan Kirk, Garrius Adams and Durand Scott) rather than four (add Lisandro Ruiz-Moreno to that list).  More on that later.  Replacing a graduating Lance Hurdle with Jai Lucas would be a tremendous coup for Coach Haith and the Hurricanes.  

The situation would see the Canes end up with a 2009-2010 lineup consisting of:

PG:  Jai Lucas/Malcolm Grant/Eddie Rios

SG:  James Dews/Durand Scott

SF:  DeQuan Jones/Adrian Thomas/Garrius Adams

PF:  Dwayne Collins/Donnavan Kirk

C:  Cyrus McGowan/Julian Gamble/Reggie Johnson

If that roster doesn't get you excited, I don't know what will.  In his interview after the win against Southern Miss, Coach Haith raved about Durand Scott and said he was extremely content with his recruiting class as a whole.  Could this mean the class consists of Scott, Adams and Kirk, and not Ruiz-Moreno?

Lucas would add stability to a position that is in question for the next three years.  Sure, Eddie Rios has played very well early on and Malcolm Grant has a good reputation of a playmaker, but there is no certainty when it comes to the idea of the Miami Hurricane point guard of the future.  Lucas solves that problem and then some.

Ranked the # 7-ranked point guard in the Class of 2007 and the #43-ranked player overall, Lucas also led the Gators in three-point field goal percentage, shooting over 40% from behind the arc (another quality that Coach Haith values).   

If the Hurricanes do indeed land Jai Lucas (which the article predicts might very well happen), the program's future will become that much brighter.  Keep in mind, with Sweet Sixteen aspirations and beyond, we're already shading our eyes at the potential brightness this team could possibly radiate.  

Well, throw on the Ray-Bans and some Coppertone, because this sunny day just got a heck of a lot sunnier.