Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
Marquette’s Shaka Smart named AP Coach of the Year
By ROB ROSE
Marquette clearly made a wise decision when it hired a head coach two years ago.
The Golden Eagles’ leader Shaka Smart was named AP Coach of the Year on Friday. The 45-year-old received 24 of 58 votes and finished ahead of Kansas State’s Jerome Tang and Houston’s Kelvin Sampson.
Not much was expected from Marquette this season, but the Golden Eagles won the Big East regular season title and conference tournament. Smart and Marquette were a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament and were eliminated by Michigan State in the second round.
Smart’s resume already included a shocking success for a team not picked to win very much. In 2011, Smart led VCU on a memorable run to the Final Four then took over as head coach at Texas.
Marquette went 29-7 this season and was led by Big East Player of the Year and AP Second Team All-America player, Tyler Kolek.
