Shaka Smart
Shaka Smart (born April 8, 1977)
Current position: Head men’s basketball coach
Current team: Marquette Golden Eagles
Current conference: Big East Conference
VCU record: 163-56 (.744)
Texas record: 109-86 (.559)
Marquette record: 75-30 (.714)
Overall record: 348-171 (.671)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 10 (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023)
- NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: 2 (2011, 2024)
- NCAA Tournament Final Four: 1 (2011)
- NIT Championships: 1 (2019)
- NIT Appearances: 1 (2019)
- CBI Championships: 1 (2010)
- CBI Appearances: 1 (2010)
- Big East Regular Season Champion: 1 (2023)
- Big East Tournament Champion: 1 (2023)
- Big 12 Tournament Champion: 1 (2021)
- Atlantic 10 Tournament Champion: 1 (2015)
- CAA Tournament Champion: 1 (2012)
Awards:
- AP Coach of the Year: 1 (2023)
- NABC Coach of the Year: 1 (2023)
- Henry Iba Award: 1 (2023)
- Big East Coach of the Year: 1 (2023)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
| 2021-present | Marquette |
| 2015-2021 | Texas |
| 2009-2015 | VCU |
| 2008-2009 | Florida (asst) |
| 2006-2008 | Clemson (asst) |
| 2003-2006 | Akron (asst) |
| 2001-2003 | Dayton (DBO) |
| 1999-2001 | California (PA) (asst) |
Shaka Smart Facts
- Shaka Dingani Smart
- Born April 8, 1977
- Hometown: Madison, Wisconsin
- Alma Mater: Kenyon College (BA, 1999) / California University of Pennsylvania (MS, 2001)
- Graduated from Oregon HS (WI) and then was a four-year starter at D-III Kenyon College (OH), where he played for head coaches Richard Whitmore and Bill Brown
- Got started in coaching in 1999 as an assistant at California (PA) under Bill Brown, where he spent two years and earned his masters
- Hired by Oliver Purnell as the Director of Basketball Operations at Dayton in 2001, spending two years in that position
- Spent three years as an assistant at Akron, first under Dan Hipsher and the under Keith Dambrot
- Reunited with Purnell at Clemson in 2006 as an assistant for two years, then spent one year at Florida under Billy Donovan before being hired at VCU
- VCU tenure got off to an incredible start, winning the 2010 CBI title in his first season and making an improbable run to the NCAA Final Four in 2011 as a 10-seed
- Smart and VCU became household names after the F4 run and would play in the NCAA Tournament in each of the next four seasons – two of which were due to at-large bids (as was the 2010 berth)
- After being courted for many high major openings, Shaka finally left VCU in 2015 to become the next head coach at Texas
- Led the Longhorns to a 20-13 record and NCAA berth in his first season; returned to the NCAAs two years later (2018)
- Won the 2019 NIT title, the second such championship for the Texas program
- In 2021, Smart led UT to its first Big 12 Tournament crown in program history and got back to the NCAA Tournament
- In March 2021, Smart decided to leave Texas and become the head coach at Marquette, returning to his home state of Wisconsin
- In 2022-23, despite being picked to finish 9th in the preseason poll, the Golden Eagles won the outright Big East title and their first-ever Big East Tournament crown; Smart was named Big East COY and earned National COY Awards from the NABC, the USBWA and the AP
Shaka Smart Coaching Tree
- Jeremy Ballard (FIU)
- Jamion Christian (George Washington, Siena, Mount St. Mary’s)
- Darrin Horn (Northern Kentucky)
- Mike Jones (UNC Greensboro, Radford)
- Donny Lind (Mount St. Mary’s)
- Mike Morrell (UNC Asheville)
- Mike Pegues (Louisville)
- Dwight Perry (Wofford)
- Mike Rhoades (Penn State, VCU, Rice)
- KT Turner (UT Arlington)
- Will Wade (McNeese, LSU, VCU, Chattanooga)
- Luke Yaklich (UIC)