How the Jason mask became a symbol of the UM basketball team under Jai Lucas
Eager to establish a team identity heading into his first season as University of Miami men’s basketball coach, Jai Lucas and his staff came up with a creative, and unusual, idea: The scary Jason mask from the Friday the 13th horror flicks.
The gimmick caught on, strength coach Zack Zillner ordered a mask from Amazon, and after each game, a standout performer is awarded the Jason mask in place of a team ball.
“We knew aesthetically we’re not the prettiest team to watch,” Lucas said, smiling, on Monday morning before the Hurricanes traveled for Tuesday night’s ACC/SEC Challenge at Ole Miss (9 p.m., SEC Network).
“There’s not going to be some flashy offense. We’re this big, physical monster. We don’t know exactly what we are, who we are, but we know what we’re about. Like in the movie, the first time he finds the mask and puts it on, he says, `This is what I am’ and he accepts it. That’s what we’re trying to do. We’ve got to accept who we are. We’re big. We’re going to rebound and crash. We’re going to attack the paint, and we’re going to guard you.”
The Hurricanes (6-2) will lean on those principles in the game at Ole Miss (5-2). Miami is coming off a 78-65 win against Georgetown. The Canes’ only losses were to ninth-ranked BYU and 10th-ranked defending national champion University of Florida.
It will be the first true road game for Miami, although the “neutral” games against Florida in Jacksonville and against BYU and Georgetown in Orlando felt like road games because those teams brought more fans.
Lucas is encouraged by his team’s evolution so far, considering all 12 players and all the coaches are new.
“That’s what these Thanksgiving tournaments are all about, playing different styles, higher-level competition, and learning and growing from the experiences,” Lucas said. “I thought we got better from Florida to BYU and then from BYU to Georgetown we took a step, too. So, we have to just continue to take steps.”
He hopes they take another step on Tuesday night.
Lucas is quite familiar with Ole Miss coach Chris Beard as they both have Texas roots, and he knows the style of play he instills in his teams.
“He’s one of the best coaches in the business, especially when it comes to game planning and defense,” Lucas said. “They’re going to be tough. They’re going to be physical. They’re going to rebound. They’re going to guard.”
Ilias Kamardine, a senior from France, leads the Rebels with 15.1 points and 4.7 assists per game.
The Hurricanes are led by Indiana transfer and Miami native Malik Reneau, who is averaging 20.8 points.
Michigan transfer guard Tre Donaldson leads the team with 5.4 assists per game and is the second-leading scorer at 15.8 points per game. New Mexico transfer Tru Washington averages 13.7 points and freshman Shelton Henderson 11.1 points. The top rebounder is TCU transfer Ernest Udeh, Jr.
Lucas gave the bench players more minutes against Georgetown and they delivered. Dante Allen had five assists and four points in 26 minutes. Salih Altunas had three rebounds and four points in 13 minutes, and Noam Dovrat added a pair of three-pointers in six minutes.
Dovrat received the Jason mask for his contribution.
“The first few big games the starters were playing like 35, 37 minutes, Malik, Shelton, Trey, Tru, those guys are playing heavy, heavy minutes and it’s a long year,” Lucas said. “It’s going to be hard to do that for 30 something games, so those [bench] guys need to come in and help and try not to drop the level of the game.”
This story was originally published December 1, 2025 at 2:52 PM.