Senior guard Tre Donaldson revitalized his career under Coach Jai Lucas, spearheading the Miami Hurricanes' historic basketball turnaround.
The Miami Hurricanes men’s basketball squad completed one of the biggest turnarounds in NCAA Division I history. Coming off a 7-24 season, hiring a new and first-time head coach in Jai Lucas, and putting together a completely new roster with no returning players, the program was looking to make a comeback after reaching a low point in its history.
The team wound up with a 26-9 record, finishing third in the Atlantic Coast Conference, and reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since coach Jim Larranaga led the Hurricanes to their first “Final Four” appearance in 2023.
Part of the turnaround was the contributions of senior guard Tre Donaldson. The 22-year-old finished with a career-season: averaging 16.4 points on 45.4 percent shooting, 35.9 percent from three-point range, 3.6 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and 1.4 steals in 35 total games. He was named All-ACC Second Team.
Despite losing in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32 after a 79–69 outing to the Purdue Boilermakers, Donaldson mentioned what it meant to join the Hurricanes for his final collegiate season.
“Coming to Miami, I had to build myself back up,” he said on Sunday. “Coming off a tough year, last year [with the Michigan Wolverines], how it ended, and how everything went. Transferring and stuff like that. Just coming into a coaching staff that was going to help me build myself back up, and not only build myself back up to where I was, but then continue to help me get better. I feel like that was the biggest thing [in] coming here to Miami. I enjoyed every moment of it, something I’ll never forget.”
Donaldson entered the transfer portal on April 1, 2025, then committed to the Hurricanes only a couple of days later. The Tallahassee native was known to be a scorer, but coach Lucas wanted him to develop as a natural point guard. He was relied upon to facilitate and set up teammates to score, including fellow seniors Malik Reneau and Ernest Udeh Jr.
On Feb. 17, against the Virginia Tech Hokies, Donaldson recorded a new career-high with 32 points on 54.2 percent shooting, three three-pointers made, including two rebounds, two assists, and two steals in 36 minutes. He willed the Hurricanes to victory, despite the rest of the team struggling offensively.
The 22-year-old delivered in critical situations throughout the year. Also, Donaldson finished his lone tenure with the Hurricanes with a total of 574 points and 201 assists, which is a first in program history since the 1970-71 season, according to Canes Research.
Despite falling short of the “Sweet 16,” coach Lucas successfully established a new culture and standard for the program moving forward. As Donaldson, Reneau, and Ernest Jr. depart after one season, each of them left an impactful imprint on the Hurricanes’ basketball history. They will have an opportunity to build on a successful season and strive for improvements.
A key factor will be retaining key players, such as junior guard Tru Washington, plus a couple of promising freshmen in forward Shelton Henderson and guard Dante Allen. The program is in a position to attract top-market transfer portal talent, which will benefit any roster revampification plans.
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