Shaka Dingani Smart (born April 8, 1977) is an American men's

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

coach and former college basketball player. He is the current head men's basketball coach at

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It was established as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, by John Henni, the first Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Ar ...

. Smart rose to prominence in 2011 after leading

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a Public university, public research university in Richmond, Virginia, United States. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virgin ...

to its first and only

Final Four In sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoffs, playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in ...

appearance in school history in the 2011 NCAA tournament.

Early life, education, and playing career

Smart was born April 8, 1977, in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

to Winston Smart and Monica King. Smart's father was not supportive of Smart and left the family in 1994. He grew up in Fitchburg and attended Oregon High School in Oregon, Wisconsin. Smart, who is biracial, was one of "10 or so" students of color at Oregon High and experienced racism while attending the school. This led Smart to lead a student group which held multicultural events and seminars on homophobia and racism. He has said these experiences helped him develop his competitive drive. While in high school, Smart played for the Oregon Panthers basketball team. He was a three-year starter as a

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

for the Panthers and set school records for assists in a game (20), season (291), and career (458). His senior season he was named to the All- Badger Conference second team. After high school, Smart attended

Kenyon College Kenyon College ( ) is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1824 by Episcopal Bishop Philander Chase. It is the oldest private instituti ...

Gambier, Ohio Gambier ( ) is a village in Knox County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,213 at the 2020 census. Gambier is the home of Kenyon College. History Gambier was laid out in 1824. The village was named after one of Kenyon College's early ...

. He graduated

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

with a degree in history, focusing on issues of race and the Great Migration. Smart was a four-year starter for the Kenyon Lords basketball team, and set school records for assists in a season (184) and career (542). As a senior, Smart was named to the All-

North Coast Athletic Conference The North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III which is composed of colleges located in Ohio and Indiana. It sponsors 23 ...

(NCAC) team and NCAC Scholar Athlete of the Year. Smart was also named to the 1999 ''

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'' All-USA Academic Team. After graduating from Kenyon, Smart received an

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

postgraduate scholarship and earned a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in social science from California University of Pennsylvania.

Coaching career

Assistant coach

Smart's coaching career began in 1999 as an assistant coach at California University of Pennsylvania under Bill Brown, his former coach at Kenyon. He followed that with a position as the director of basketball operations at

University of Dayton The University of Dayton (UD) is a Private university, private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary (Marianists), Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the U ...

and assistant coaching positions at

University of Akron The University of Akron is a public university, public research university in Akron, Ohio, United States. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM fields, STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advance ...

Clemson University Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...

, and the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

VCU

In 2009, Smart was hired as the head coach of

(VCU) following Anthony Grant's departure to become the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team. At the time of his hiring, he was one of the youngest head coaches in

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

basketball. In his first season, he led the Rams to a 27–10 record and a CBI Championship after VCU swept Saint Louis in the championship best-of-three series. Smart's second season began with star forward Larry Sanders declaring for the

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. Without Sanders, the Rams went 23–11 and played in their second consecutive

Colonial Athletic Association The Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), formerly the ECAC South Conference and the Colonial Athletic Association, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA' ...

championship game, losing to Old Dominion. VCU was given an at-large bid to the 2011 NCAA tournament. The decision was met with controversy given the Rams 3–5 record that February. They played in the First Four against

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

(USC) for a spot in the main 64-team tournament bracket. VCU defeated USC and upset

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

and

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

to advance to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history. VCU beat

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

72–71 in overtime to earn the school's first spot in the

Elite Eight In the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, NCAA men's Division I basketball championship or the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, NCAA women's Division I basketball championship, the "Elite Eight" comprises the final eight t ...

and subsequently upset the top-seeded

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

71–61 for its first

appearance. The Rams lost to

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantr ...

70–62 in the semifinal game. Smart signed an eight-year, $1.2 million per year contract extension with VCU following the school's loss to Butler. Smart became the second-youngest coach to win 100 games, with a 90–63 victory over

Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( ; also known as Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a Private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded by members of ...

in January 2013.

Texas

In 2015, Smart became the head coach of the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

men's basketball team. In his first season at Texas, he led the Longhorns to a 20–13 record and received the sixth seed in the NCAA tournament, which the ''

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'' described as having "surpassed all realistic expectations." That offseason, Smart received a contract extension which would keep him at Texas through the 2022–23 season. In May 2017, Smart received a commitment from Mohamed Bamba, the second-ranked overall player in the 2017 recruiting class, to play at Texas. He also received commitments from Gerald Liddell, Brock Cunningham, Jaxson Hayes, and Kamaka Hepa in what was the eighth-ranked recruiting class in the country. Smart led the 2017–18 Longhorns to a 19–15 record. The team lost in the first round of the

2018 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 2018 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 68 teams to determine the men's National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball national champion for the 2017–18 seas ...

to the

University of Nevada The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a public land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada, United States. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant institution. It was founded ...

in overtime. In the 2018–19 season, Smart led Texas to a 21–16 record and a

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...

championship, the school's first since 1978. Smart ended a three-season absence from the NCAA tournament in 2021 when he led the Longhorns to a 19–8 record and a

Big 12 conference The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida ...

championship. The Longhorns were given the No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament and were defeated by

Abilene Christian University Abilene Christian University (ACU) is a Private university, private Christian research university in Abilene, Texas, United States. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as an R2 (High Research Spending and Doctorate Production) institutio ...

in the first round, after which ''

San Antonio Express-News The ''San Antonio Express-News'' is a daily newspaper in San Antonio, Texas, founded in 1865. It is owned by the Hearst Corporation and has offices in San Antonio and Austin, Texas. The ''Express-News'' is the third largest newspaper in the sta ...

'' reporter Nick Moyle questioned Smart's job security. At the time, Smart had two years left on his coaching contract and could be bought out for $7.1 million. Smart left Texas in March 2021.

Marquette

hired Smart to replace

Steve Wojciechowski Steven Michael Wojciechowski (born August 11, 1976), commonly known as Wojo, is an American basketball coach and former player. In 2025, he joined the Utah Jazz coaching staff as an assistant coach following the NBA Call-Up. Wojciechowski previo ...

as the Golden Eagles' head coach in March 2021. Smart led the Golden Eagles to 19–13 record the following season, where they lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament to the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

. In his second season in Milwaukee, Smart led the Golden Eagles to a Big East regular season crown and a tournament championship, despite being chosen in preseason polls to finish ninth in the conference. At the close of the 2022–23 season, Smart won the

Henry Iba Award The Henry Iba Award was established in 1959 to recognize the best college basketball coach of the year by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). Five nominees are presented and the individual with the most votes receives the ...

as the national coach of the year.

Coaching style

At VCU, Smart's teams employed a high-pressure style of play known as "havoc". In this style, offense is based on attacking inside and the defense heavily utilizes full court pressure, double teams, and traps to force turnovers and disrupt opposing offenses. At Texas, Smart employed this style less frequently. Smart has been described as a relationship builder and been noted for his ability to increase team camaraderie.

Head coaching record

Personal life

Smart was named after the Zulu monarch

Shaka kaSenzangakhona Shaka kaSenzangakhona (–24 September 1828), also known as Shaka (the) Zulu () and Sigidi kaSenzangakhona, was the king of the Zulu Kingdom from 1816 to 1828. One of the most influential monarchs of the Zulu, he ordered wide-reaching reforms ...

. Though often teased about his name growing up, Smart has said being named Shaka was the "best thing" his father did for him. Smart's middle name, Dingani, is a Ndebele word meaning "one who is searching". Smart is married to Maya Payne Smart, an author and professor at Marquette University. The couple have one child. He has six siblings. Smart campaigned for

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

in Florida in 2008 and Virginia in 2012.

References