AUSTIN, TX (The Spread) – Shaka Smart is leaving Virginia Commonwealth for an opportunity to coach the Texas Longhorns.
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Smart met with VCU players on Thursday evening at Siegel Center to inform them that he’s leaving the program. The school’s sports information director Scott Day confirmed that Smart was leaving for Texas, whose own athletic director Steve Patterson flew to Richmond, Virginia yesterday to close the deal.
Smart started at VCU in 2009 after serving as an assistant for California (PA), Akron, Clemson and Florida, respectively. His head coaching record stands at 164-56 (.744) and was 7-5 in NCAA tournaments plus a perfect 5-0 in the CBI. He won the 2010 CBI Tournament Championship in 2010 and took the Commodores to the Final Four in 2011.
Under Smart, the Longhorns will adopt an up-tempo style that many have come to known as “havoc.” The defensive style uses a heavy dose of full court press.
Texas was knocked out of this year’s tournament by Butler.
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