NCAA Basketball: Top 10 impact head coaching hires from 2009 offseason

By Joey Loose | Jun 14, 2021

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 08: Head coach Tony Bennett of the Virginia Cavaliers cuts down the net after his teams 85-77 win over the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the 2019 NCAA men's Final Four National Championship game at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 08, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

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NCAA Basketball Shaka Smart of the Virginia Commonwealth Rams (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

3. Shaka Smart (VCU)

VCU was trending in a great direction. The program had become a perennial contender in the CAA and had made a few NCAA Tournaments since the turn of the century. The success of the Rams had also gotten power conference head coaching jobs for former coaches Jeff Capel and Anthony Grant. Another head coaching search engaged, and VCU found a hidden jewel.

Shaka Smart had spent his last decade of coaching as an assistant at various schools, having not yet been a head coach. He spent time at Dayton and Akron before joining the Clemson staff just three years earlier. His final stop before VCU had been a season on Billy Donovan’s staff at Florida, making him the second straight Florida assistant hired by VCU. They hit the jackpot with this one.

The clear highlight was VCU’s unexpected run from the First Four to the Final Four in Smart’s second season with the program. He then led the Rams to NCAA Tournament bids in each of the next four seasons, all while the Rams transitioned to the much tougher Atlantic 10. Smart won nearly 75% of his games and clearly cemented his legacy with that 2011 team. He went off to Texas in 2015 and has left this Rams program in remarkable shape for the future.

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