CAA Basketball: Top 10 head coaches of the century (2000-20)

2. Shaka Smart – VCU (2009-2012)

By 2009, the VCU program was in pretty solid shape, but Smart did things that previous regimes could only dream about. He spent six total years with the Rams, but VCU left for the Atlantic 10 in 2012, meaning we’ll just focus on his first three years in Richmond. Fortunately, there’s plenty to laud in those three seasons.

Inheriting what Grant left behind, Smart’s first team marched to a CBI championship and a 27-win season. Obviously, 2011’s team would blow that success out of the water. After barely making the NCAA Tournament in the Last Four In, the Rams defeated five power conference teams and marched to the Final Four before falling to fellow mid-major Butler. Smart’s havoc defense was an astounding success not only in the CAA, but on the national stage as well. His teams were 84-28 during those three seasons even though they didn’t win a single regular season title in the conference.

While Smart’s star has dimmed after disastrous results at Texas, there’s no denying his meteoric rise in those first few years at VCU. For a young, second-year coach to lead a mid-major program to the Final Four is an amazing accomplishment, especially running through teams like Purdue, Florida State, and Kansas to get there. That success was a major reason why the Rams left the conference, a league they could have dominated alone for years to come, instead choosing the challenge of the A-10.