Shaka Smart has stuck with the VCU program he's built, and it's truly commendable. |
Smart, 34, had been Illinois' top choice to replace Bruce Weber, who was fired March 9.
The Sun-Times cited multiple anonymous sources saying Smart informed Illinois athletic director Mike Thomas of his decision.
VCU announced later Wednesday that Smart will stay at the school next season. Smart said in the school's news release he is not pursuing any coaching offers.
"I am very grateful for the support and belief in the coaching staff and basketball program that comes from the very top of our university's leadership -- President Rao, Athletic Director Norwood Teague and the VCU Board of Visitors -- as well as our phenomenal fans," Smart said in a statement. "There are great things to accomplish at VCU, and I'm looking forward to building on the successes of our program and university."
In three seasons Shaka Smart has not only won a boatload of games and create a serious NBA career for Eric Maynor, but he has also put VCU on the map as a serious basketball program with the potential for NCAA Tournament consistency for years. Smart does it with defense, mostly banking on guards with quick hands and a serious penitence for pushing the basketball off of misses. But it's not as much about what Smart has gotten out of his players on the court as much as it is about what he's done off the court.
Two straight years he's been offered a lucrative contract by a needy powerhouse program. Two straight years he's rejected them. Last year after stunning the world and appearing in the Final Four all the way from the play-in game, VCU's coached turned down an offer from the fading ACC power North Carolina State. Then this year after "upsetting" #5 seed Wichita State, and almost doing the same to Indiana in the second round, Smart was offered another appealing contract by Illinois. Once again, Smart said "no thank you." He claims to have more goals that he wants to accomplish at VCU, and his actions are saying he wants to do so.
It's hard to find a great coach who wants to settle in on a mid-major program. Even in the business of coaching basketball it's still a capitalistic society, with Cinderella coaches bolting their small programs for the big names in the major conferences. These coaches aren't so successful once they reach the big time. But Smart is not abandoning the program he has started to build into a mid-major empire. His situation at VCU isn't too bad either, as four starters are returning for next year. Either way what Smart's actions are admirable. We've seen him show his school's prowess in back-to-back years and he wants to keep the ball rolling. He surely could have jumped all over the NC State or Illinois offers, but Smart wanted to take the honorable road. VCU is a budding program and due in large part to his phenomenal defensive system and shrewd recruiting.
I just wish more coaches had this attitude. I understand everyone wants to get paid, but abandoning the artwork you put so much effort towards is just weak. Disowning Cinderella is an ugly sin. I commend Smart for his efforts to stick around and potentially watch a empire grow in front of his eyes. Don't forget he's only 34, so he's got plenty of time to make the big jump from mid-major to elite, and hopefully he can do it with VCU. I'll tell you what, I'm surely rooting for the Rams next season.
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