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Shaka Smart

RJKarl

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I think he's going to be a good coach. Hover, he's a guy I'd wait a year to see. I'd like to see how he does with a younger team and one with more of his own guys on it.

This is really Grant's team.

Shaka is doing a good job, but let's see.
 
I've been sold on him for 2 months now. Such a motivator. Love him.
 
I was really impressed with the win last night.

WTB Shaka!
 
I pretty much agree with RJ on this actually (and that doesn't happen often).

Another year or two and he would be a great get.
 
I'm changing allegiances to VCU

The front page of their official website.

http://vcu.prestosports.com/landing/index

#winning

That is awesome. Call me a fan of his too, but I also concur with RJ that next year will be more telling.

Smart, Stevens, and Pastner so far are looking like the foundation of the next great major program hiring class.
 
Dude might be a great coach but damn he lucked into a great situation. Takes over Grant's team and gets the benefit of Skeen having a great senior season. If I'm him I jump at an opportunity to upgrade to the big leagues now if it comes.
 
Agree with rj. I'd want to see him coach his own players at VCU for 1-2 seasons before I'd be ready to give him a shot in a conference like the ACC. Right now, he's coaching a bunch of juniors and seniors recruited by Grant, and was basically handed his best player in an RSCI top-50 power forward who is both highly motivated and in his 5th year of eligibility (Skeen). That's a pretty nice setup.
 
Shaka is in a tough spot. Does he take a decent sized offer after this season? Or does have the confidence that he can deliver another good season next year and a get a
$2M/year deal.
 
I guess it all depends on what kinds of offers he gets. A place like Georgia Tech, NC State, or Tennessee, and I'd think he'd have to strongly consider jumping now. He may take a look at his roster and conclude that the time to strike is now.

What jobs might realistically open after next season? In the ACC, Miami is really the only one I can think of. (Unless [Redacted] leaves on his own to take an NBA gig following another 20-loss season, which I do think is a plausible if not unlikely possibility.)
 
If State is gonna offer 2-3 million dollars, it would be tremendously difficult not to jump ship. VCU isn't his alma mater, so he doesn't have outstanding loyalty to it.
 
If State offers him $2-3M, I feel sorry for Shaka. He'd get rich, but his career might be over. They seem to be a place for bad coaches.
 
It's only a matter of time before State hits the jackpot with a new head coach.
 
You sound like the guy at the track who keeps betting a horse that closes a ton to come in 2rd or 3rd in about five straight races. That horse is due. He's gonna win.

The only decent coach they've had in thirty years was Valvano and he cheated his ass off to win.
 
Shaka is in a tough spot. Does he take a decent sized offer after this season? Or does have the confidence that he can deliver another good season next year and a get a
$2M/year deal.

He can't deliver another good season next year. Not with the talent they are losing. But you'd hope the people making the decisions would be smart enough for judging him for his coaching, not on the talent of the players.
 
That makes it sound like we've had a lot RJ. We've had 3 since Valvano. Les Robinson, who was basically there to make sure we got in zero trouble. Winning hardly factored into his job description. Then Herb, who got us into 5 straight tourneys after 5 really bad seasons. Look at his record now, hardly a great coach. He's the definition of mediocre and he was still able to have some success here. I think that should tell you something about how impossible the State job really is. Then we hired the worst coach in NBA history because he was an alum and our AD was retarded.

And, we gave all those guys at least 5 years. It's not like we go through coaches like crazy as a fanbase. The terrible fans thing is way overstated. They're everywhere. A lot of UNC fans wanted Roy gone at the beginning of this year for God's sake.
 
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