Virginia Commonwealth University

He quotes Shakespeare in one breath and bear crawls through NavySEAL training the next. He placidly reads from Sun Tzu beforeimploring his players to wreak havoc. The scholarly 37-year-oldcoach of the VCU Men’s Basketball team could’ve been ahistory professor, but chose to make history instead.

Shaka Smart is just…different.

The way he’s directed the Rams through five of the bestyears in VCU history has been, at a minimum, entertaining.Whip-smart and driven, he’s already led VCU to 137 victories(tied for the second most by any Division I coach through his firstfive years), the first Final Four in school history, andestablished program marks for single-season wins,twice.



His “Havoc” style of play – a high-octaneplatform marked by full-court pressure and transition offense - hasturned heads for its effectiveness (.749 winning percentage) andwatchability (50 straight sellouts, over 90 national TV games inpast three years). His methods are also worthy of attention. At theFinal Four in Houston in 2011, Smart grabbed headlines forparticipating in the “Iron Man” drill at practice. Thelast two years, he’s also joined his players and staff in aweek of grueling Navy SEAL training.

It’s safe to say that Smart’s vision for running aprogram is a good one. VCU enters the 2014-15 season as one of justthree schools with at least 26 wins in each of the past fiveseasons, joining Duke and Syracuse. Last year, he guided the Ramsto a 26-9 mark and a fourth consecutive NCAA Tournamentappearance.

Meanwhile, Havoc is better than ever. The Rams have led thecountry in steals per game in each of the last three seasons, whilebeing near the top in turnover margin and opponent turnover rate aswell. Smart has led his teams to three Top-25 finishes since hisarrival, whereas VCU had just one before his arrival.

As Havoc continues to be wrought throughout the collegebasketball world, more young players are lining up to be a part ofit. Smart has proven to be a high-caliber recruiter and anexcellent talent evaluator. VCU’s incoming freshman classranks as the 14^th-best in the country, the highest-ratedrecruiting class in the history of the program.

In 2012-13, VCU’s 422 total steals shattered the Atlantic10 single-season mark of 352 set by Xavier’s 1998-99 squad.The 422 steals is the 18^th most in NCAA Division Ibasketball history. Last season, the Rams led all teams yet againin steals with 391, 21 more than any other team.

In 2011-12, he shrugged off the graduation of four of the fiveleading scorers from VCU’s Final Four team and led the Ramsto a conference championship and the third round of the NCAATournament.

Just a year earlier, Smart and VCU turned college basketball onits ear with a stunning run from the First Four to the FinalFour.

The 11th-seeded Rams scored a series of NCAA Tournament upsets,five in all, to reach the Final Four for the first time in schoolhistory. Many have called it the greatest run to the Final Fourever. Along the way, VCU dispatched “BCS Conference”schools Southern California, Georgetown, Purdue, Florida State andfinally, mighty Kansas, the Southwest Region’s No. 1 seed.The Rams’ 71-61 victory over the Jayhawks sent shockwavesthrough the sports world. It was later named the “BestUpset” of 2011 at ESPN’s annual ESPY Awards.

Along the way, VCU tied a school-record with 28 wins, whileSmart received the Fritz Pollard and Clarence Gaines National Coachof the Year Awards. The Rams finished the year ranked sixth in thefinal ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll, the highest in school andconference history.

VCU’s 2010-11 season was so incredible it managed tocompletely overshadow Smart’s 27-win, CBI Championship seasonin 2009-10. That squad produced Larry Sanders, who was selected15th overall in the 2010 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks, thehighest-ever selection from VCU.

Smart’s Havoc philosophy took shape while working withnotable coaches Billy Donovan (Florida), Oliver Purnell (Clemson,Dayton) and Keith Dambrot (Akron) early in his career and isclearly paying dividends at VCU.

Smart was introducedas VCU’s 10th head coach on April 2, 2009, and two years tothe day later, Smart led the Rams onto floor at Reliant Stadium, infront of a crowd of more than 75,000 for a Final Four matchup withButler.

Prior to his arrival at VCU, Smart spent one season as anassistant with Donovan’s Florida Gators. He helped lead theprogram 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 atClemson from 2006-08. During his tenure, Smart helped the Tigers to49 wins and consecutive postseason appearances, including an NCAATournament berth in 2008.

From 2003-06, Smart served as an assistant at the University ofAkron. In 2005-06, he helped the Zips to a 23-10 record, theschool’s highest victory total since it became a Division Iprogram in 1980-81.

Smart worked for Purnell at Dayton as director of basketballoperations from 2001-03. During that time, the Flyers posted a45-17 record and won the 2003 Atlantic 10 Championship. The 2002-03squad finished 24-6 and earned an NCAA bid.

Smart began his coaching career as an assistant at CaliforniaUniversity (Pa.) from 1999-2001. The school had a 40-16 combinedledger those two seasons. During that time, Smart earned hismaster’s degree in social science.

Smart played his college basketball at Kenyon College inGambier, Ohio and graduated magna cum laude in 1999 with a degreein history. A four-year starter and three-year captain, he holdsKenyon single-season (184) and career (542) assist marks. As asenior, he was an All-North Coast Conference selection and was theNCAC Scholar Athlete of the Year. He was one of 20 studentsselected for the 1999 USA Today All-USA Academic team and receiveda NCAA postgraduate scholarship.

A native of Madison, Wis., Smart married the former Maya Payneon May 20, 2006. The couple welcomed their first child, daughterZora Sanae Smart, on Sept. 25, 2011.