VCU played it Smart when picking Grant’s replacement

Shaka Smart understands there's a difference between spending your life preparing for something and then doing it.

So when he picked up the phone in his office at the University of Florida last Friday and heard Virginia Commonwealth University Athletic Director Norwood Teague ask if he was interested in becoming the Rams' new basketball coach, Smart was as sure as he could be.

He was ready to become a head coach. So he jumped at the opportunity.

"I told him, 'I'd love to come to VCU,'" Smart said. "I wanted to make it clear right there that I wanted to be his next coach."

After 10 years as an assistant coach -- from Division II to the highest levels of Division I -- his time has come, just five days before his 32nd birthday. After a whirlwind few days, Smart was introduced yesterday as VCU's coach.

He looked out at the couple of hundred fans, players, administrators and band members who gathered at the Siegel Center for his introductory press conference, promised to be a relentless recruiter and said he was excited about the opportunity "to take this program to even greater heights."

In the past seven years under Jeff Capel and then Anthony Grant, the Rams have won four Colonial Athletic Association regular-season titles, been to the NCAA tournament three times and the NIT twice.

Grant, who became Alabama's coach last week, went 76-25 in three seasons with two trips to the NCAA tournament.

Like Grant, Smart worked under Billy Donovan at Florida and is wed to fullcourt pressure defense. He said he won't change the Rams' fast-paced style.

"There are a lot of similarities with the way Coach Grant did things here and the way I'm going to go about doing things," he said. "We are going to wreak havoc on our opponents' psyche and their plan of attack."

That message received a stamp of approval from VCU's players. Smart has met with them as a team and individually.

"I think he's about winning, the same thing Coach Grant was about," sophomore guard Brandon Rozzell said. "We're looking forward to a lot of success and the same type of basketball. . . . We've got high expectations for him, just like he does for us."

Teague has had Smart on his radar for some time. They became acquainted through the Villa 7 Consortium, which was created by VCU to facilitate meetings between up-and-coming assistant coaches and mid-major ADs who often are in search of coaches.

In the coaching community, Teague said, Smart is considered to be one of the top assistants. He has been at California University in Pennsylvania, Dayton, Akron, Clemson and Florida.

"I like him a lot," freshman guard Bradford Burgess said. "I think he's going to do good things with the program. It was pretty tough at first with Coach Grant leaving. He's the reason all these guys are here. But I think we've found a good replacement. . . . We're just getting adjusted to it all. It's going to take time, but I think we'll be good."

VCU returns all of its players from a 24-10 team except honorable mention All-American point guard Eric Maynor. Rozzell, Burgess and sophomore transfer Jay Gavin all said they weren't aware of anybody who planned to transfer.

"We came in together," Rozzell said. "We're going out together. That's the mindset we have."

VCU President Eugene P. Trani called Smart's hiring "a 3-point shot."

"For me, it's a good final shot in terms of men's basketball," said Trani, who is retiring on June 30. "Not to put pressure, but there's no reason we can't continue to win championships in men's basketball in the Colonial and continue to go to the NCAA.

"He's got a program with big shoes to fill, but he clearly is up to it. I couldn't be more excited."

As Teague and Smart sat in a back booth of a Gainesville, Fla., diner at 7 a.m. Sunday, Teague said it became more and more apparent that Smart was his man.

They talked about Smart's philosophy, recruiting, communication skills and his experiences as an assistant.

"I almost stopped the interview in the middle," Teague said. "I was going to say, 'Shaka, I'm wasting your time and you're wasting my time. It would be better for us all if you just go home, pack a bag and get to Richmond as quickly as you can.' That's how strongly I felt about him."

When Teague asked how Smart knew he was ready to be a head coach, Smart was honest.

"I said, 'Any assistant, you don't know for sure,'" Smart said. "But what you have to do is look at the experiences I've had and the places I've been and the people I've worked for. If you look at that, you'll see my age is really just a relative number.

"Of course, there will be areas where I have to grow and I don't have it all figured out. That to me is the exciting part of being here."