Shaka Smart

Atlantic 10 Tuesday Preview and Predictions

Game of the Day: VCU vs Texas | 7ET | ESPN2 On March 18, 2015, The Washington Post ran a story with the headline, “Why is Shaka Smart still at VCU?” At the time of the article, the Rams were just a few years removed from their Final Four run, and Smart had already turned down job …

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VCU wreaking havoc on itself

VCU’s “Havoc” brand has become a well-known brand in the college hoops world after six consecutive NCAA tournament appearances and a defense that has been one of the best at turning teams over. Former head coach Shaka Smart said his teams would “wreak havoc” on their opponents psyche and plan of attack in his introductory …

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1-on-1 with VCU’s JeQuan Lewis

Recently I sat down with VCU’s JeQuan Lewis to talk about basketball. His dramatic improvement over VCU’s last 10 games has coincided with the Rams current 10 game winning streak and subsequent 7-0 start in conference play. VCU travels to Davidson on Friday night so that winning streak will certainly be tested in what has …

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Has VCU struck gold again with Wade hire?

One of the biggest challenges in college basketball is the built-in attrition that comes with a four-year “max contract” for a team’s players. Add in coaching turnover — and it happens to even the bluest of blue blood programs — and you are left with teams and programs that are in a constant battle to remain relevant. …

News

Smart bolts VCU for Texas, Rams interviewing potential replacements

Last night VCU fans got the news they have flirted with the past five seasons: Shaka Smart is gone. The VCU head coach was rumored to be Texas’ top choice, a rumor that proved to be true as Smart was announced as the Longhorns’ new head coach less than a week after the firing of …

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A-10 HR update: conference cellar gets makeover, Shaka speculation runs rampant

The 2014-15 college hoops season officially wraps this week in Indiana but already several A-10 teams have made moves to secure a brighter end to next season. FORDHAM HIRES NEUBAUER After five seasons and just 13 conference wins, the Fordham Rams handed Tom Pecora his walking papers and welcomed Eastern Kentucky’s Jeff Neubauer in as his replacement. …

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Wild night sets up Wildcats to win A-10 regular season title

A bunch of fans are going to hate this post. For starters, VCU fans (yes, my alma mater), are going to blast me for saying anything negative about VCU. VCU super fan will say I’m trying to pretend I’m not biased while everyone else will hate me for posting a realistic prediction that doesn’t go the Rams …

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A look ahead: A-10 homestretch plus fading Colonials and more

It’s homestretch time and we’ve got a neck-and-neck race at the top of the league. Currently both VCU and Rhode Island sit atop the conference at 10-3 with Dayton a near lock to join them after tonight’s home matchup against a struggling Saint Joseph’s Hawks team. Who will grab the regular season crown and which teams …

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Road Warriors: Toughest A-10 road teams since 2011

I was driving home this afternoon, listening to ESPN radio, when I heard a stat that blew my mind on a local show here in Richmond, VA hosted by Greg Burton. A Richmond Spiders fan had contacted Greg to tell him of UofR’s 1-28 record in true road games against kenpom top-100 teams since the …

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VCU, Dayton, Richmond and GW big winners in conference television matchups

The Atlantic 10 released this year’s conference schedule today, a lineup that features a record 96 total television games and a total of 75 national TV games. The big winners? Not surprisingly last year’s Elite representative, Dayton, as well as the Shaka Smart-led VCU Rams. While the conference will get plenty of TV time from …