Former California University of Pennsylvania men's basketball assistant coach and 2001 graduate Shaka Smart has been named named head men's basketball coach at Division I Virginia Commonwealth University.
Smart inherits a VCU program that has made two NCAA Tournament appearances in the last three years and won three conference tournament tiles since 2004.
The Rams finished the 2008-09 season with a 24-10 overall record after losing to UCLA in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Smart served on the Vulcan coaching staff under head coach Bill Brown from 1999-2001. During his time with Cal U, Brown and Smart guided the program to a 40-16 overall record and a tie of the PSAC West title in 2000.
"Shaka had a feel of the game and he has made great decisions in life to get to where he is," said Brown, the all-time winningest coach in Cal U history. "He is a tremendous role model and I know Cal is a dear place to him since it is the place he started coaching."
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