The new deal: Smart’s extension ensures benefits from historic run

Quinn Casteel
Staff Writer
Commonwealth Times Sports’ Twitter

The atrocious shooting performances by Butler and UConn in the National Championship on Monday night brought about more than a few “What if?” questions for VCU fans.

But just as many potential “What if?” questions were put to rest earlier in the afternoon when Shaka Smart signed an eight-year contract extension with the team. The deal is worth $1.2 million per year before incentives, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Ram Nation may be left to wonder what could have been with regards to this season, but not when it comes to Smart. The second-year head coach was offered the same position at N.C. State for over $2 million a year but decided to validate his outspoken commitment to VCU for less money.

By locking in on Smart, VCU has found its first long-term benefit from the unprecedented Final Four run, and there will be many. Having Smart on board means there will be even more.

One of the most crucial of those benefits is that VCU will maintain a major part of their image. The extensive national coverage the team has received over the last few weeks made Smart a true celebrity across the country. His energetic coaching style charmed the nation as VCU blew out top-notch teams as if they were 20-point favorites, and people aren’t going to forget that. Smart has turned doubters into believers, and people are going to continue to believe as long as he’s in charge.

With belief in VCU comes upgrades in non-conference scheduling, national television opportunities and most importantly, recruiting quality. After watching this year’s remarkable run, prep stars across the country will be vying to become the next Jamie Skeen or Joey Rodriguez. Smart’s Havoc 2.0 system is perfect for attracting athletic, intelligent basketball players who want to emulate this season’s success. Jim Larranaga’s recruiting classes have improved drastically since George Mason’s Final Four appearance in 2006, and Smart’s will too.

Ironically, the most appropriate comparison to what VCU will try to accomplish next season is what the Bulldogs have done the last two years. Despite falling short in both National Championship appearances, Brad Stevens and his players have paved the way for a new breed of college basketball powerhouse: the mighty mid-major.

Coming from the Horizon League, Butler was labeled as a group of well-coached overachievers when they came within a possession of beating Duke in the final last year. They lost Gordon Hayward to the NBA Draft and were grossly underestimated once again in this year’s tournament. Through it all, Stevens and company proved that the mid-major is not what it used to be, especially in March.

Smart and Stevens are perhaps the two brightest young minds in the game today, at 33 and 34 respectively. Together they have proven that great coaching paired with the right type of players for the given system is more valuable than talent alone. And as they continue to achieve, the talent gap between elite mid-majors and the power conferences is going to continue to diminish.

For VCU the future is bright, and the potential is limitless with Smart at the helm.

The story of how this team went from fourth in the CAA all the way to the Final Four has been well documented, but the long-term effects have just begun.

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Photo by Kyle Laferriere