A flabbergasted Jim Nantz walked up to Shaka Smart. He’d
just watched VCU’s fiery, second-year head coach participate
in the “Iron Man Drill”, a jarring exercise normally
reserved for players, at the Rams’ carefree Final Four open
practice.
The Iron Man requires participants to take a charge under the
basket, dive on the floor for a loose ball, then leap out of bounds
to save the ball to a teammate. As he completed the drill before a
crowd of more than 9,000 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Tex., Smart
was mobbed by his team. Nantz, CBS’ veteran NCAA Tournament
play-by-play man for more than 20 years, thought he had seen it
all. He was wrong.
“Are you out of your mind?” A bemused Nantz asked.
Nantz was joking, of course. He, like most of the country, knows
that the 34-year-old Smart is a rising star in the college coaching
ranks, one with a firm head on his shoulders. In two short seasons,
Smart has gone from an under-the-radar hire to one of the most
talked-about sideline generals in the country.
That was bound to happen after VCU’s magical 2010-11
campaign, in which Smart’s Rams turned college basketball on
its ear.
The 11th-seeded Rams scored a series of NCAA Tournament upsets,
five in all, to reach the Final Four for the first time in school
history. Many have called it the greatest run to the Final Four
ever. Along the way, VCU dispatched “BCS Conference”
schools Southern California, Georgetown, Purdue, Florida State and
finally, mighty Kansas, the Southwest Region’s No. 1 seed.
The Rams’ 71-61 victory over the Jayhawks sent shockwaves
through the sports world. It was later named the “Best
Upset” of 2011 at ESPN’s annual ESPY Awards.
Along the way, VCU tied a school-record with 28 wins, while Smart
received the Fritz Pollard and Clarence Gaines National Coach of
the Year Awards. The Rams finished the year ranked sixth in the
final ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll, the highest in school and
conference history.
VCU’s 2010-11 was so incredible it managed to completely
overshadowed Smart’s 27-win, CBI Championship season in
2009-10. That squad produced Larry Sanders, who was selected in
15th overall in the 2010 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks, the
highest draft pick ever from VCU and highest from the CAA since the
Rams joined the conference in 1995-96.
| The Shaka Smart File |
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Coaching Experience: Playing Experience:
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Employing a philosophy he calls “Havoc”, part
aggressive, full court offense and defense and part psychological
warfare, Smart has led VCU to 55 wins in his first two seasons, the
most victories over any two-year span in school history.
Smart’s Havoc philosophy took shape while working with
notable coaches Billy Donovan (Florida), Oliver Purnell (Clemson,
Dayton) and Keith Dambrot (Akron) early in his career and is
clearly paying dividends at VCU.
Smart was introduced as VCU’s 10th head coach on April 2,
2009. Two years later, to the day, Smart led the Rams onto floor at
Reliant Stadium, in front of a crowd of more than 75,000 for a
Final Four matchup with Butler.
“Through the vetting process of hiring someone to lead our
program, we spoke with some of the nation’s top head and
assistant coaches, men who came highly recommended from the biggest
names in college basketball,” said VCU Athletic Director
Norwood Teague. “Shaka stood out amongst all of them. In
Shaka, we have found someone who we knew without a shadow of a
doubt could continue the excellence established by VCU
basketball.”
Smart didn’t just continue that excellence. He broke the
mold.
Known as a high-caliber recruiter, Smart has lived up to his
billing with the Black and Gold, landing back-to-back highly-touted
recruiting classes. Both classes have gained national attention
from ESPN.com, Scout.com and Rivals.com.
Prior to his arrival at VCU, Smart spent one season as an
assistant with Donovan’s Florida Gators. He helped lead the
program to a 25-11 season, the fifth-most wins in school history,
and a berth in the NIT Quarterfinals.
Before Florida, Smart served as an assistant coach under Purnell
at Clemson from 2006-08. During his tenure, Smart helped the Tigers
to 49 wins and consecutive postseason appearances, including an
NCAA Tournament berth in 2008.
Smart had a positive effect on Clemson in his first year, aiding
the Tigers’ 25-11 record and NIT Championship game
appearance. The 25 victories and 17-0 start tied 20-year old
Clemson records. The Tigers appeared in the top 25 of the USA Today
coaches’ poll for eight consecutive weeks.
Additionally, Smart played a significant role in the Tigers’
landing of top 100 recruits Catalin Baciu, Terrence Oglesby and
Milton Jennings. While at Florida, he helped the Gators land the
nation’s No. 3 recruiting class, according to ESPN.com,
including McDonald’s All-American guard Kenny Boynton.
From 2003-06, Smart served as an assistant at the University of
Akron. In 2005-06, he helped the Zips to a 23-10 record, the
school’s highest victory total since it became a Division I
program in 1980-81.
The Zips also defeated Temple in the first round of the NIT for
the school’s first Division I postseason triumph. In two
seasons working under Dambrot, Smart helped Akron to a 42-20
record.
Smart worked for Purnell at Dayton as director of basketball
operations from 2001-03. During that time, the Flyers posted a
45-17 record and won the 2003 Atlantic 10 Championship. The 2002-03
squad finished 24-6 and earned an NCAA bid.
Smart began his coaching career as an assistant at California
University (Pa.) from 1999-2001. The school had a 40-16 combined
ledger those two seasons. During that time, Smart earned his
master’s degree in social science.
Smart played his college basketball at Kenyon College in Gambier,
Ohio and graduated magna cum laude in 1999 with a degree in
history. A four-year starter and three-year captain, he holds
Kenyon single-season (184) and career (542) assist marks. As a
senior, he was an All-North Coast Conference selection and was the
NCAC Scholar Athlete of the Year. He was one of 20 students
selected for the 1999 USA Today All-USA Academic team and received
a NCAA postgraduate scholarship.
A native of Madison, Wis., Smart married the former Maya Payne on
May 20, 2006. The couple welcomed their first child, daughter Zora
Sanae Smart, on Sept. 25, 2011.
