CORAL GABLES, Fla. – University of Miami men’s basketball head coach Jai Lucas announced the addition and retention of four staff members Friday afternoon.
LJ Rose, Director of Player Personnel
LJ Rose joins the Miami men’s basketball staff after spending the previous four years as an international scout for the Houston Rockets organization.
Rose is also currently the General Manager of the Bahamas National Basketball Team, an organization he has worked with since June 2022 when head coach Chris DeMarco recruited him to join the program as the Director of Operations.
The Houston native played five seasons of Division I basketball – one year at Baylor (2012-13), three years at Houston (2013-16) and a season at BYU (2016-17). He averaged 5.7 points, 3.9 assists and 2.4 rebounds per game in 106 collegiate contests.
Following graduation, Rose played overseas for four years in places like Finland, Australia and Latvia.
Rose earned a Bachelor of Science in Health/Health Care Administration/Management from Houston in 2016 and a Master of Science in Management in Leadership from Houston in 2022.
Rose’s father, Lynden Sr., played at Houston from 1980-82 as a member of the Phi Slama Jama squad.
“LJ brings experience from all levels of basketball to Miami, from his time as a Division I player to most recently working on staff for the Houston Rockets and the Bahamian national team,” Lucas said. “The knowledge he learned as a scout and general manager will be invaluable as we build our program at Miami.”
Zack Zillner, Director of Sports Performance
Zack Zillner brings over 10 years of athletic performance experience to Miami, most recently serving as the Director of Athletic Performance for the University of Texas women’s basketball team.
While at Texas, Zillner was responsible for the implementation and supervision of the training regimen for the Texas women’s basketball team in the areas of speed, strength, agility, conditioning and flexibility, while working collaboratively with the areas of sports medicine and performance nutrition.
During Zillner’s eight years at the Forty Acres, the Longhorns recorded seven 20-win seasons, made seven NCAA Tournament appearances (2020 tournament cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic), advanced to the Elite Eight four times and won two Big-12 Tournament Championships. Texas put together a 214-64 overall record over Zillner’s eight years with the program.
Prior to his time at Texas, Zillner garnered a vast amount of experience at three NCAA Division I institutions – Kansas, Illinois and Southern Miss.
“Zack is someone who knows what it takes to win in the area of sports performance as he has been a part of very successful women’s and men’s basketball teams over the past 10 years,” Lucas said. “His relentless pursuit of excellence and dedication to the athletic performance of our student-athletes will help build the kind of culture we want at Miami.”
Riley Welch, Special Assistant to the Head Coach
Most recently, Riley Welch was on staff for the Grand Rapids Gold, the NBA G League affiliate of the Denver Nuggets, first as a video coordinator (2023-24) and, in 2024-25, as an assistant coach.
While with the Gold, Welch spearheaded the team’s defensive strategy, while also leading player develop workouts and assisting in opponent scouting.
Welch’s first foray into coaching came at the University of Kentucky, where he served as a graduate assistant coach on John Calipari’s staff from 2021-23. As a graduate assistant coach, Welch coordinated and facilitated individual workouts, assisted in the planning of official visits and created play call sheets for the coaching staff.
Welch played for Calipari for two seasons at Kentucky, graduating with a Bachelor of Liberal Studies in May 2021. The guard appeared in seven games as a Wildcat and was an integral part of the opponent scouting and game preparation for Kentucky.
“Riley is someone who lives and breathes basketball, having grown up around the sport from a young age,” Lucas said. “We had the opportunity to cross paths at Kentucky when he was a player and graduate assistant coach, and I knew he’d be the perfect addition to our staff because of his basketball knowledge and positive attitude.”
Jeff Dyer, Director of Basketball Operations
Jeff Dyer, who has served as the Miami men’s basketball director of operations since 2021, will stay on in the same role for Lucas.
Dyer spent two years as a graduate assistant at Miami from 2014-16 and then returned to The U in 2017 as an associate director of basketball operations. During Dyer’s eight years at Miami, the Hurricanes have made five NCAA Tournament appearances, two Elite Eights and the program’s first-ever Final Four trip.
Dyer’s day-to-day responsibilities includes managing budgets, speaking engagements, community service and team travel, plus overseeing support staff and equipment.
In addition, Dyer assists with on-campus recruiting and is a staff liaison to numerous areas within the athletics department, including academics, communications, compliance, facilities, marketing and ticketing.
“Jeff’s familiarity with the University of Miami, the city and the basketball landscape has made our transition as a staff seamless,” Lucas said. “He has been and will continue to be an integral part of the basketball operations at Miami.”
– MiamiHurricanes.com –
