Shaka Smart is not coming to Marquette. He’s staying put at VCU. Therefore, all the media members jumping the gun yesterday saying Shaka Smart was a done deal…you might want to tweet a mea culpa right now.
Of course, this is just a rite of passage every March since 2011. “Shaka to school XYZ” stories have popped up every year since Smart’s improbable Final Four run. However, Shaka Smart is signed until 2019 and $1.2 million per season.
So, have fun with that buyout/trying to re-work that buyout clause.
Richmond Times-Dispatach writer Tim Pearrell covers VCU for his publication. He has a direct quote from Shaka Smart’s employer
#VCU AD Ed McLaughlin says this a.m. that “Shaka Smart is our men’s basketball coach” after erroneous reports about Marquette job on Mon.
— Tim Pearrell (@timpearrelltd) March 25, 2014
Therefore, the story we’ve heard, with Bruce Weber being a prime candidate, has more viability now. Our source told us that Weber is interested in MU, as of yet. We’re not going to jump the gun and say anything more about it; like these people did.
Paul M. Banks owns The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. An MBA and Fulbright scholar, he’s also a frequent commentator on national talk radio. The former NBC Chicago and Washington Times contributor has also been featured on the History Channel. President Obama follows him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)