Shaka Smart
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Show 017
This week’s episode of The Passing Game with Fletcher Arritt features one of the youngest head coaches in Division I basketball, Shaka Smart. Coach Smart is Virginia Commonwealth University’s thirty-three year old head men’s basketball coach. Shaka, who is named after an African king, played his college ball at Kenyon College in Ohio. At Kenyon, he earned all NCAC honors and still holds the school’s single-season and career assist record. Coach Smart began his coaching career at the California University of Pennsylvania where he served as an assistant basketball coach while earning his master’s degree. From there, Smart moved on to the University of Dayton, where he served as Director of Basketball Operations. Two years later, after a short stint as Director of Basketball Operations at Clemson, Coach Smart took a coaching position at the University of Akron. While at Akron, Smart helped lead the Zips to a 42-20 record in two seasons. From Akron, he then returned to Clemson, this time as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator, a position he held for two years before spending a year at the University of Florida under Coach Billy Donavan.
On March 31, 2009 Shaka Smart was named as head coach of the VCU Rams. In his first press conference, Smart introduced his philosophy of “wreaking havoc” through an up tempo style that utilizes the full court press to its utmost potential. In his first year at the helm, Shaka led the Rams to a CBI championship and a 27-9 record.
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