The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
04.03.2015 | Men's Basketball
Shaka Smart was introduced Friday as the Texas men's basketball coach by University president Bill Powers and men's director of athletics Steve Patterson
Smart announced as UT men's basketball coach | Video: Smart's introductory news conference | Photo Gallery: Smart's first day in Austin
Shaka Smart was introduced as the 24th men's basketball coach at The University of Texas during a news conference Friday afternoon at the Frank Erwin Center.
Smart spent the last six seasons as head coach at Virginia Commonwealth University, leading the Rams to the 2011 Final Four and 26-plus wins each year.
Bill Powers, the University president, and Steve Patterson, the men's athletics director, introduced him.
Bill Powers introductory statement
I want to welcome all of you to a really special event in the history of the University of Texas. This is a very exciting and joyful day for our Athletics program and for the entire University as we're going to introduce our new men's head basketball coach. We pride ourselves at the University of Texas in a great academic program and in a great athletics program, and in doing it with integrity. Given that background and criteria, I can't think of a person to lead us into the future in men's basketball than coach Smart. To Coach Smart, Maya and to his family, welcome to Texas. 'Hook'Em Horns.
Steve Patterson introductory Statement
Thanks for coming out this afternoon on an exciting day for all of us. I really couldn't be more excited about the future of men's basketball at the University of Texas and where we are headed. We started the search a little less than a week ago. We said: "Who do we really want?" Somebody who's a great, dedicated coach; somebody who plays an exciting style of basketball and is really interested in developing the entire group of student-athletes both on the court and off the court, somebody who is consistent in operating in an ethical fashion; somebody that we really wanted to bring to the University of Texas. We thought of Shaka Smart. He's the only person I interviewed. We got together this week, we talked a number of times over the phone, and had a chance to meet in person yesterday. I was certainly impressed, and I think all of you will be as you get to know Shaka and his lovely wife Maya over here. They're a great family and we are excited to have them here at the University of Texas.
Shaka Smart opening statement
I'm so excited to be your new basketball coach. Before I get started, I want to introduce my family, my wife Maya, my daughter Zora, and my mother-in-law Margaret. I want to say thank you to president Bill Powers and director of athletics Steve Patterson for giving me this phenomenal opportunity to come here and be your basketball coach. So excited to work with this group of young men and to build on a phenomenal tradition that's been established here with Texas basketball for over 100 years.
I want to say thank you to all of our players and staff last night at VCU. The last six years have been an extremely special time in my life, to get a chance to share so many great experiences on and off the court, it's something that I'll never forget and something that I'll always treasure. To be honest, I didn't know if I would ever leave VCU, because of the relationships that I had there with the players and the coaching staff. It really took a world-class institution, a world-class athletics program, and a phenomenal place to convince my daughter, my wife, and myself to make this move.
We're so excited about being here in Austin. We are so excited about being at the University of Texas. I also want to thank my mother. She was my greatest coach, is my greatest coach still. She'll be at all games telling me what to do and calling plays. I'm so thankful for her. I also want to thank all my coaching mentors, as you know, the coaching fraternity is a very close knit, and I'm very fortunate to have worked with some terrific coaches, and being around some of the best in the game. Guys that I worked for and really taught me what it means to coach, to move guys forward, and what goes into winning. I feel like, at Texas, this is an unbelievable opportunity, for me as a basketball coach to help a group of young men pursue excellence. As I think about the University of Texas, that's the first word that comes to mind. Excellence. This athletics program is a championship athletics program. Across the board, teams are regularly competing and winning conference championships, national championships, and making deep runs into the postseason. I'm extremely excited about building on the tradition of Texas basketball and helping this program do the exact same thing. I know it's going to take a lot of hard work. I just met with the guys and the team right before I came here and I'm excited about rolling up my sleeves and working with you guys. You're going to like me some of the time, not all the time. We're going to work together, we're going to work extremely hard, and everything we do, is going to be in the name of building this program and winning championships. My philosophy in coaching is all about building relationships. I'm extremely excited about building strong bonds with the young men that I'll get the opportunity to coach here at Texas. Just like I did over the last six years at VCU. The hardest thing for me in making the move was leaving the players that I felt so close to. Those are guys that I'll still be in contact with and stay close to for the rest of my life. But again, the opportunity here, at the University of Texas, for my family and I, was one that we simply couldn't pass up. So I can't wait to build strong relationship with you guys, I can't wait to know all the former players, all the alumni that make this program so strong. Again, there's such a rich tradition of basketball here over the years, and the guys that have made it special that go back for several decades. I look forward to meeting everyone and building strong relationships.
As you know, a strong part of coaching is recruiting. I'm going to work extremely hard with recruiting. We're going to set up a top-notch staff that builds great relationships with our current players and with potential future players. There's obviously terrific talent in the state of Texas, as evidenced by the large roster in our program right now; primarily Texas guys. I can tell you right now, that it will be an extremely high priority for me and our coaching staff to recruit this state at a high level. At the same time, the University of Texas is an international brand, it's recognized all over the country, and we will recruit nationally. But my primary focus, are our current players, helping them build their comfort level with our new coaching staff and starting to move towards building on the success that this program has had in recent years. The style of play that we will employ will be one that's extremely exciting, we're going to play fast-paced basketball, we're going to be very aggressive. For those of you who had seen my teams in the past, we like to play press, we like to play aggressively, and we really like to be a competitive group out there on the floor. I can tell you right now, when you come to the Erwin Center to see us play, you're going to see an exciting style of basketball. You're going to see guys competing at a high level, you're going to see five guys working out there on the court together to achieve our team goals. Our team will be bigger than any one individual, but every individual on our team will contribute to our team success. To me, the best teams are the ones that are connected and care about one another, and having a genuine love and concern for the guy next to you. That's the type of environment that we're going to create off the court, and that's the product that you will see on the court.
Academics are very important to me. One of the things that attracted me to this group of student-athletes, is how well they've been doing in the class room in recent years. That's something that's very important to me, and it's something that I will make sure that we continue. I want our student athletes to have unbelievable success on the court, but I also want them to prepare themselves for the rest of life. I want them to be ready for that day that, as basketball players, a lot of people don't want to think about, that day when the ball stops bouncing; because that comes for everyone. For me, developing players is about developing the whole person and not just the athlete, and that's the way that my staff and I will move forward with this program. We're going to spend a ton of time with you guys, and you're going to get to know everything about us. I know the first game is several months away, but we got a lot of work to do.
When I interviewed yesterday I talked to [Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director] Arthur [Johnson] and he said "We'll fly you down for the press conference, and then sometime over the weekend we'll fly you back to Richmond" and I said: "No, I'm not going back to Richmond. Once I get down to Austin, it's time to go to work." I'm here to stay. We're going to bring a great coaching staff that going to give everything they have for this basketball program and this University.
Lastly, I want to say, my number one core value is appreciation, and it's not lost on me how terrific of an opportunity it is to be your basketball coach. I'm extremely grateful for that opportunity. It's not something that I take lightly, it's not something that I will ever take for granted, and it's something that I plan to do for a long, long time. I know the day will come soon when we get to take the floor for our first home game here at the Erwin Center. You guys are going to love what you see. I can't wait to meet everyone here. When you take over a job, it's a situation where you got all kinds of people to meet, it can be a little overwhelming, but to me, it's a lot of fun. I can't wait to get ot the point where my family and I are completely engrained in this community. Thanks you so much for being here today, Thanks so much for your support.
The following are quotes from the question and answer session of the news conference
Texas Men's Basketball Coach Shaka Smart
On when was he first contacted by Texas and what specifically clinched his decision to come here: It happened fast. I've been fortunate in the past several years, I've had some opportunities at some phenomenal institutions, but I felt like my situation in VCU was so extremely special that I turned those down. When the opportunity was presented to me to be the head coach here at Texas, I quickly realized this was something different. This is a world-class institution. This athletics department is all about championships and I knew I was going to have the opportunity to work with a great group of young men. When you add all those things together, you combine them with the community, to me it was a no brainer in a situation where I knew for my family and I, this was the place for us to be.
On how his playing system will translate into a power conference setting: It translated very well a few years ago in San Antonio [for the Final Four]. First of all, I love to play the way that we played at VCU, but to be honest with you, some of those teams that I've had the chance to coach in the last six years have been different than others. Some teams have pressed a little bit more, some teams have played a little bit differently on the offensive end. So I'm going to fit what we do with the personnel that we have. For instance, there are way better front court players, and there's way more front court players here at Texas than we typically had at VCU. That means that those guys go get the ball. That means maybe you adjust what you do to fit those guys strengths. But at the same time, we're not going to get away from what I believe in. We're always going to be aggressive, we're always going to be highly competitive. We're always going to be that team that, if the ball's on the floor, we're going to get it, if the ball's up in the air, we're going to get it. There's certain core components that I believe in that will not change, but in terms of some of the schemes, I'm going to fit those around who we have.
On if he's been to Austin before today and if he's nervous about coming to a new place: Well I've never been to Austin. I have obviously been to the state of Texas many times, San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, but I had never been here. And I had always heard terrific things about the community, about the University, and I have some friends that grew up here. It's something that I was extremely excited about. The nature of coaching changes is that they happen very, very fast and you don't necessarily have the luxury of going down and visiting a place before there's any type of decision that's made. I had not been to VCU when I took that job six years ago, so for me, you used the word nervousness, but it's not really nervousness. It's excitement. I'm really excited to be here. I'm excited to build a relationship with the guys and the team and with all of you. I know this is a great place, I can feel it, and I'm just really looking forward to getting to know the place.
On if he was offered one million dollars to stay at VCU and if he has something at Texas that he didn't have at VCU: I don't want to get too much into that. I won't deny that. But an answer to your second question, I think the reality is that this is an athletics program that, I believe, has won over 50 National Championships. This is a basketball program that has a storied past and has had significant success in recent times. This is a program that is in the top 20 all time in wins in NCAA Division I. I believe is in the top 12 or 15 in NCAA Tournament appearances, so there's been a great deal of success here. I feel like my role is to try and build on that success. Obviously, it takes a committed, connected effort to do that between coaches and players. That's what we've done over the past six years at VCU and that's what we plan to do here moving forward. I do think at Texas, there is phenomenal upside, there's a phenomenal potential, and potential is a word that we all know sometimes gets realized and sometimes does not, but my excitement as a coach is to go after that and to pursue that excellence and I think that's very, very realistic here.
On if his relationship with head football coach Charlie Strong influenced his decision to come here: I got a chance to talk to Charlie this week and I've always looked fondly upon him. He's just got such a friendly spirit about him and you realize that within a couple of seconds of being around him. I did, I got a chance to speak with him just about the community here, being a coach here and what that all means. That was really meaningful to me, because I strongly value his opinion. I embrace the fact that the football program is as big of a deal as it is. I was fortunate to have an opportunity to be an assistant coach with Charlie at The University of Florida. I was fortunate to be an assistant coach at Clemson University. Those are two schools, as well, that take their football very, very seriously and to me, as I've said a few times today, this athletics program is about championships across the board, as evidence by swimming and diving the other day. Obviously, success in football is a huge deal here and very, very important. I think success in basketball is very important here, but I think success and championships across the board is something that people take a lot of pride in at Texas, and I'm excited to be a part of that.
On being the first African-American head basketball coach at The University of Texas: I didn't realize that until last night and I apologize to friends and people in the coaching profession that I haven't texted back yet. I take a lot of pride in always writing people back, but the amount of messages I got last night and today has been overwhelming. But someone sent me in that in a text message and I didn't realize that. But I take that very seriously. For me, I grew up and was able to learn from and benefit from some terrific role models, some great mentors, from some people that I can look at and say, 'Hey maybe I can do what he's doing someday.' I hope that in this role as the men's basketball coach at The University of Texas, I can play that role for someone else in this terrific state. That's something I didn't realize but I take very seriously.
On if the state of the program impacted his decision: Well it definitely had an impact on it. Not so much as whether if a program is struggling or succeeding but just where the program is in terms of the guys that make up the program and the culture of the program. I think, for me, as an outsider looking in, you have a certain perception and you try to do some research and find out what you can and what I found is, there's a terrific group of young men that make up the roster of the basketball program. I know the players on the team have very, very high expectations for themselves, for their coaches, for the program. I have high expectations and the great thing is now we get to work together to go work towards those expectations. It definitely played a role.
On what the 2011 Elite Eight game against Kansas in San Antonio meant to him and his career: Well they have a phenomenal program. Obviously goes without saying one of the best in the country. That game was a special game. We had a point guard on our team that was about 5-foot-9 in Joey Rodriguez, but he thought that he was 8-feet tall. His belief in himself carried over to all of his teammates. So before the game, he was with the officials and the captains from the Kansas team at the center-circle. You guys probably remember the Morris twins that played for Kansas. They were the captains representing their team, and the Morris twins, I don't know which one of them it was, Markieff or Marcus, but one of them grabbed Joey. They're over a foot taller than him and said, 'You guys have had a great run, but it's about to end.' That was a mistake saying that to Joey. So that team had a certain swagger and belief about itself that, I think, you have to have to beat those kinds of teams. At the time, Kansas was 35-2. There are six guys from that Kansas roster that went on to play in the NBA, but on that day, we had a competiveness, a belief, and a connectivity that allowed us to beat them and reach the Final Four. To me, as a coach, what you're constantly trying to do is replicate that and that's what we're going to work towards here. I think that is very, very doable, but it takes a connected effort. It takes a group of guys that are willing to put the team agenda front and center and understand that if the team succeeds, everyone benefits.
On his first impression on Steve Patterson and what sold him to come to Austin: Well I was actually able to do some research on Steve before meeting him and I'm sure he did a whole lot of research on me. But what I found out is he's a visionary. He looks into the future and sees where things can be improved. He sees opportunities, and I think he thinks about things from a very broad perspective, in terms of understanding how this university, how this athletics department is viewed, not just in Texas but also around the country and around the world. That's something that appealed to me. Obviously his basketball background, he's been around a lot of success in the game of basketball and that's what we want to create here is a great deal of success, so I'm really looking forward to working with Steve.
On what made him decide to start coaching basketball: Well I love the game. My wife gets mad at me because she'll be watching TV, and I don't really watch TV except basketball. I'll grab the remote and put some random game on, and it might be a game on the west coast, but I just can't get enough basketball. Like these guys, at a young age, I just wanted to play, as long as I could play. Again, I was fortunate to have some great coaching mentors, to be around some people that changed my life that served as father figures that really paved the way. Somewhere along the way, when I was in college, I realized, 'Hey this is what I want to do.' I was fortunate. I had some terrific professors that wanted me to go into other walks of life, but it was not even really a decision for me because I couldn't imagine being away from basketball. I love being around it every day. I love researching it and watching it on film, and most importantly, being on the floor with the players. So it's something I knew I was going to get into. I had some great breaks along the way and then was presented with the phenomenal opportunity at VCU, and over the last six years, it's been a tremendous learning experience. I was 31-years old when I got that job. I think as an assistant coach, if you've not been a head coach, you can prepare as much as you possibly can, and I was big on preparation, but you're never fully ready. And now, it's gone fast, but I've had six years of being a head coach and with different teams and different experiences. We've dealt with adversity, which teams do, and been able to overcome that and I think that all goes in to making a better coach.
On how his name translates with his personality and his role in generating excitement for a potential new arena: Well I'll answer the second one first. I think my larger role is making sure that our current arena gets as excited and as raucous as it possibly can. The guys and I are going to work on that. In terms of anything moving forward in the future, I look forward of being a part of that. I think one of the great things about being a part of The University of Texas and this athletics department is the facilities. They're top-notch. They're facilities that enhance the student-athlete experience and they also are very, very attractive in recruiting. In terms of my name, I was named after a chief, if you will, in Southern Africa that led hundreds of thousands of people and was a great warrior. That was probably the best thing my father did for me was give me that name, but it's something that, obviously, has been very, very important to me over the years. I'm a different person in a competitive setting than I am when I'm not in a competitive setting. I think you'd find that about a lot of coaches. If you ask for comparisons to the name I was named after, those come more often when I'm in that competitive setting.
On how comfortable he is about being the front person for Steve Patterson's big visions for the program: Well I'm really looking forward to working together with Steve on that. Obviously, your nonconference schedule is something you want to put together to challenge your team, to prepare your team for league play, to put your team in a great position, to make the NCAA Tournament, to get a good seed in the NCAA Tournament, and hopefully advance in the NCAA Tournament. So all those things go into nonconference scheduling, in addition to the fact that Steve and I share this belief that we want to get The University of Texas, this basketball program, to different places around the country and in the case of the China trip, around the world. This is a very, very powerful brand is extremely recognizable. I'm excited about working with Steve on that. We're always going to play a competitive schedule. The teams in the past have played great teams. I think what it does is it challenges you. We were fortunate at VCU, this year, we played the number one nonconference schedule in the country and eight games into the season, we were 5-3, and there were certain teams and certain people around our program that were saying, 'Wow how can you be 5-3?' Well the reality is we played an unbelievable schedule. Two of the teams we lost to were in the top five in the RPI at the end of the year and were No. 1 or 2 seeds in the NCAA Tournament. So it challenges the guys. I think competitive players want to play a high level schedule and that's what we're going to do.
On being appreciated by former players: It means a lot. The reality is that you have four years to coach the guys that you coach. The hope is that you are creating a relationship and strong bond that is going to last forever. I think when you go through certain shared experiences, particularly when those experiences involve first adversity and then triumph and preferably championships, there's nothing like that to bring people together. For some of the guys I've had the opportunity to be around and coach, those guys made that happen. I got the chance to help them along the way with that, but I really cherish those relationships. As I mentioned, that's the hardest part of leaving. I didn't know if I would ever leave because of that.
On what he looks at when he is recruiting players: I don't think the outlook on recruiting changes a lot in terms of the type of players I want to coach. I do think – and I learned this already last night – it's a different reception you get when you are calling as the head coach at The University of Texas. What do I value? I value guys that are energy givers. I believe you can either bring energy or take energy. I think if we have a group of guys that gives each other energy on the floor, that's going to help us go out there and be the more aggressive team and fly around and do some great things. I value guys that are team oriented. Sometimes, we forget it is a team sport, so it's five guys working together to accomplish their goals. We'll have very simple goals. On the offensive end, our goal is to get what we call a team score that means we put the ball in the basket and it doesn't matter who does it. On the defensive end, we want a team stop that just means we stop the other team from scoring. A lot was made of our team at VCU stealing the ball from the other team forcing turnovers. That is just one way to stop the other team. If we can stop them with a blocked shot, with a defensive rebound, with a deflection, we're going to do that as well. It takes five guys working together to accomplish those goals. Those are the type of guys that I value. Guys that are team oriented. I also value guys that are versatile and don't mind doing other things. It always helps to put the ball in the basket. Guys that can shoot the ball especially from outside really helps you stretch the defense. I think if you look at almost any team that's had success in the NCAA Tournament in the postseason, typically what they've been able to do is put together a string of games where they make shots. If you look at a team that's gone through a tough stretch that's lost a few games in a row, often times the common denominator is tough shooting nights. I believe in recruiting guys that can shoot the ball and that can shoot the basketball, but defense is something you are highly committed to as well.
On what stood out about Texas: I don't want to take away from any other program but there's only one University of Texas. This is an extremely special place. You all know this better than me. From a long way away, I can see that loud and clear. I don't think the timing is ever under your control. I don't know if it's ever right or wrong. You don't control when coaching changes occur. I can tell you this, for me, I've never been more excited about coaching a group of guys than I am today. I told these guys in the locker room a few minutes ago, starting today I'm your coach. I'm going to work extremely hard for this group of guys. That's what attracted me to Texas. This is a special place. There's unbelievable potential here. Great things have been done here in the men's basketball program and across the board in the athletics department. The exciting things for me, I think, is that we can do phenomenal things moving forward if we work together, we work hard, and – forgive the pun - we work smart.
Texas Men's Athletic Director Steve Patterson
On when he offered the job: It was a process over the last day or so. The first time I talked to him we talked about him being our coach and we wanted him to come down and run the program.
On if he was confident on getting Smart when he went to Richmond: I've been in this business a long time and gotten surprised at the goal line a few times. As the saying goes, it's not over until the fat lady sings.
On if Smart is who he wanted from the beginning: Yes. You're always looking at all of the coaches out there in the industry. You need to be aware of the talent that's available. Shaka is who we started on. He's the only one we talked too and glad to have him.
On what made Smart stand out: Did you watch the press conference? The guy is really impressive. He's a great coach. He's done a great job developing young men. He plays an exciting brand of basketball. He's intelligent and articulate. He's a great choice for The University of Texas.
On a new arena: I think we are a ways away from talking about the arena. Let's enjoy tonight. I talked to [Smart] in generalities. We have a lot of work to do until we get to an arena.
On playing VCU to fulfill the Smart's buyout: That's a part of the buyout provisions that he's got. Sure.
On paying the buyout: We're going to abide by the contract.
On terms of the contract: We're at seven years – six is guaranteed and the seventh year is partially guaranteed. The trajectory on it is roughly what Rick [Barnes] would have gotten paid next year to begin with. It goes up from there.
On confidence in Charlie Strong and Shaka Smart: I'm very excited about the guys we have here leading the football team and men's basketball team. I think they are very well respected around the country. So far the community is excited about Charlie and they will be when they get to know more about Shaka. Obviously, the reaction today has been very positive. I'm excited about the future of both teams.
On the financial terms: It'll be right about $3 million on average per year.
On interviewing Smart: We had several conversations on the phone throughout the week, but in person, he is a very impressive individual, as is Maya, his wife. It was great to be able to sit with the two of them and talk about what he'd like to build and what we'd like to build. I think we had agreement on the kind of team we wanted to have, the kind of individuals we wanted to have, the kind of commitment he's got in building the entirety of the student-athlete, and the potential success we could have on the floor. It was a really great conversation.
On concerns about convincing Smart to leave VCU: There always is when you are going into a conversation like that. Part of my job is to create an environment in which he can be successful. We have a tremendous city, great university, an international brand, and great resources. We have a great state to recruit from. We can recruit nationally and internationally. We ought to have a great deal of success here.
On if he told Rick Barnes that he is coming back: I'm not going to get into conversations with Rick. He had a great run here and elevated the program. We all liked working together. I'm glad he's been able to land so quickly on his feet at Tennessee and we wish him well there.
On Smart's staff: He's going to be talking to a whole lot of people. I think it's too quick to say where we will be on staff. It's an opportunity for him to really go out and find the best and build a strong staff. I know he's going to talk to everybody, I just don't know if he's decided [to keep anyone from the existing staff].
On Smart's playing style: It's a factor to be considered. Everybody likes to have fun watching a basketball team play. It's not just style of play. It's how you treat your student-athletes. It's your commitment to growing them as individuals academically and athletically.
On the state of Texas basketball: At The University of Texas, we're about playing for championships. You have to have a vision of championship performance day in and day out. You look at what [Texas men's swimming coach] Eddie Reese has done here in 37 years - 30 times in the top three, 22 times in the top 10, 11-time National Champion.
