Shaka Smart has had his name linked to several jobs since being at VCU, but his time in Virginia could be coming to an end. There are reports out saying that Smart is in discussions with the University of Texas about its head coaching vacancy that recently opened when they fired Rick Barnes.
VCU’s Shaka Smart is in discussions with Texas about its coaching vacancy, sources said Monday.
Texas parted ways with Rick Barnes over the weekend after 17 seasons.
Smart, who’s been at VCU since 2009 and led the Rams to the 2011 Final Four, has had past opportunities to leave VCU and stayed. But this time, sources say the fit at Texas may be too good to pass up. He’s turned down vacancies at Maryland, NC State, Marquette, Illinois, and Wake Forest over the past five years.
If Smart turns down Texas, the Longhorns likely are turn their attention to Utah’s Larry Krystkowiak and Xavier’s Chris Mack.
This would be a home run hire for Texas and it would send shock waves through the college basketball landscape. Smart has been one of the hot names in the industry and he has reportedly turned offers from several programs in the past to stay at VCU.
The Longhorns just let go of a coach who had got them to the NCAA tournament in 16 of his 17 years as head coach, but something tells me landing Smart would make a lot of people in Austin happy.