Shaka Smart on Texas basketball: ‘We had six great, great years’
In his introductory press conference after being hired with the Marquette Golden Eagles late last week, now former Texas basketball head coach Shaka Smart didn’t have a whole lot to say about his previous team/school. Smart mostly talked about how excited he was to be the next Marquette head coach (which makes sense instead of looking back on his time with Texas), after replacing the recently departed Steve Wojciechowski.
The news dropped that Smart would be taking over as the next Marquette head coach to replace Wojciechowski specifically back on March 26. He took the job after spending six years as the Texas head coach. Smart’s tenure on the Forty Acres didn’t end on the best of terms either.
It was good that Smart took the job at Marquette for both him and the Longhorns. Texas had a big decision to make as to whether they would buy him out for the two years remaining on his contract this offseason, or if he would get another chance next season.
However, Smart made the decision easy for Texas athletic director Chris del Conte after a disappointing end with an early exit in March Madness by taking the Marquette job.
What Shaka Smart had to say about Texas basketball
The initial press conference that Smart had after landing the head coaching job with the Golden Eagles did see him with a handful of statements directed at the Longhorns and his time in Austin.
At one point, Smart stated that he had “six great, great years” on the Forty Acres during his time as head coach. That time wasn’t as great in the mind of a number of Longhorns fans as it apparently was for Smart.
The tenure for Smart as the Texas head coach ended on his team getting upset as the three-seed in the NCAA Tournament back on March 20 in the Round of 64 at the hands of the 14-seed Abilene Christian Wildcats. Texas lost to ACU by just one point on last-second free throws by junior big man Joe Pleasant.
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Texas finished up the 2020-21 season under Smart’s direction with a record of 19-8 (11-6 Big 12), including a Big 12 Tournament crown for the first time in program history. This season did very much end on a sour note with Smart losing his third NCAA Tournament game in three tries during his run on the Forty Acres.