MILWAUKEE – Shaka Smart is leaving Texas to return to his home state to coach Marquette. Marquette announced the hiring on Friday.
It comes a week after Marquette fired Steve Wojciechowski and Smart’s Texas team was upset 53-52 by Abilene Christian in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. “Throughout the search, one individual continued to rise to the top and that was Shaka,” Marquette athletic director Bill Scholl said Friday in a statement. “I am beyond excited for our current and future student-athletes who will have the great fortune of being mentored by Shaka.
He is a great teacher of the game, while also being a great molder of young men." Smart’s decision to head north ends a six-season tenure at Texas that fell short of the lofty