When he led VCU to a Final Four appearance back in 2011, 35-year older head coach Shaka Smart became an extremely hot commodity on the coaching market. Surprisingly to many though, Smart has stayed at VCU. Turning down offers from much bigger schools. An interesting move by Smart who has now built up VCU into a yearly NCAA Tournament team.
But the question has always been how long will Smart stick around. At 35, he is young and his stock may never be as high as it is right now. And according to ESPN’s Andy Katz, schools have taken notice. Specifically one UCLA who recently fired their head coach Ben Howland. Katz is reporting that UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero has Smart as his number 1 replacement option.
Smart though, would appear to have multiple options. Because according to The LA Daily News’ Scott Wolf, the USC Trojans also have their sights set on bringing in Smart to replace fired coach Kevin O’Neill.
Would Smart leave for any of these offers? We’ll have to wait and see. I’m sure at some point he would want to try his hand at coaching a powerhouse, but up until now he has remained extremely loyal to VCU.
Only time will tell.