23 Facts About Shaka Smart

Shaka Dingani Smart was born on April 8,1977 and is an American men's college basketball coach and former college basketball player.

Shaka Smart is the current head men's basketball coach at Marquette University.

Shaka Smart was born April 8,1977, in Madison, Wisconsin to Winston Shaka Smart and Monica King.

Shaka Smart's father was not supportive of Shaka Smart and left the family in 1994.

Shaka Smart grew up in Fitchburg and attended Oregon High School in Oregon, Wisconsin.

Shaka Smart, who is biracial, was one of "10 or so" students of color at Oregon High and experienced racism while attending the school.

Shaka Smart has said these experiences helped him develop his competitive drive.

Shaka Smart was a three-year starter as a point guard for the Panthers and set school records for assists in a game, season, and career.

Shaka Smart was named to the 1999 USA Today All-USA Academic Team.

Shaka Smart's coaching career began in 1999 as an assistant coach at California University of Pennsylvania under Bill Brown, his former coach at Kenyon.

Shaka Smart followed that with a position as the director of basketball operations at University of Dayton and assistant coaching positions at University of Akron, Clemson University, and the University of Florida.

In 2009, Shaka Smart was hired as the head coach of Virginia Commonwealth University following Anthony Grant's departure to become the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team.

Shaka Smart signed an 8-year, $1.2 million per year contract extension with VCU following the school's loss to Butler.

In 2015, Shaka Smart became the head coach of the University of Texas men's basketball team.

In May 2017, Shaka Smart received a commitment from Mohamed Bamba, the second ranked overall player in the 2017 recruiting class, to play at Texas.

Shaka Smart received commitments from Gerald Liddell, Brock Cunningham, Jaxson Hayes, and Kamaka Hepa in what was the eighth-ranked recruiting class in the country.

At the time, Shaka Smart had two years left on his coaching contract and could be bought out for $7.1 million.

Marquette University hired Shaka Smart to replace Steve Wojciechowski as the Golden Eagles head coach in March 2021.

Shaka Smart is the first Black head coach in program history.

At VCU, Shaka Smart's teams employed a high-pressure style of play known as "havoc".

Shaka Smart has been described as a relationship builder and been noted for his ability to increase team camaraderie.

Shaka Smart's middle name, Dingani, is a Ndebele word meaning "one who is searching".

Shaka Smart campaigned for Barack Obama in Florida in 2008 and Virginia in 2012.