Shaka Smart: 6 College Basketball Teams That Would Kill for a Coach Like Him

Shaka Smart is one of the best coaches in college basketball.

A coach known for his ability to get more from less, Smart has made Virginia Commonwealth one of the better mid-majors in all of the college ranks.

Sure, they don't win every game during the regular season. In fact, they'll likely lose six or more games every year.

But, one thing is for sure, when it comes NCAA Tournament time, VCU is one of those teams that everyone is on the lookout for because we've seen how dangerous they can be.

With Smart on the bench at VCU, the Rams rank up there with Gonzaga as a mid-major team that plays more like a team from a major conference.

Give it another year or two, assuming Smart stays in Richmond, and the Rams will be ranked in the top 25 every year to start the season.

However, there's always going to be talk of Smart going to another school.

This year, there was talk that Smart would go to Illinois, but he turned down the offer, opting to stay at VCU.

Although I think Smart has a good thing going at VCU and shouldn't leave, here are six places I believe would be a great fit for him.

UCLA

There's no question that UCLA is hurting as a program.

After everything about how the program was being run by Ben Howland came out via a Sports Illustrated article, the Bruins are in desperate need of a good leader.

I'm not talking about a leader who can win games, but a leader who can do things the way they're supposed to at UCLA—the John Wooden way.

UCLA has the "Pyramids of Success" still in place, even though Wooden hasn't coached the team for a long time. But, there's a reason why that pyramid is still there—it works.

Howland isn't a guy that follows the pyramid. In fact, he's really not a player's coach, instead embarrassing his players and assistants, and staying as distant from his players as possible off the court.

Smart would be great as the coach at the storied program of the Bruins.

With the name UCLA alone, he'll have no problem recruiting. But, with as great of a coach that he is, UCLA will be back to where it belongs—on top.

South Carolina

South Carolina hasn't made it past the first round of the NCAA Tournament since 1973.

In fact, they have only made the tournament five times since then, although they won the NIT title in 2005 and 2006.

Even with that, South Carolina has never had great leadership on the bench.

When it comes to winning, the Gamecocks still have a lot to learn, and I don't think Darrin Horn is the guy to get them there.

Insert Smart on the Gamecocks' bench, and all of a sudden, better players sign on and win totals start to get better each year, and they could challenge Kentucky and Florida in the SEC East.

Yes, a coach can single-handedly make that happen.

Wake Forest

Jeff Bzdelik is another one of those coaches that I don't believe is a good fit in the college game—well, at least as a head coach.

While knowledgeable, he seems to not be on the same page as his players. Or is it his players not being on the same page as him?

Wake Forest hasn't had success since Bzdelik took over, and should they struggle again next year, I think they go after Smart to see if he would be interested in coming to Winston-Salem.

Arizona State

The Sun Devils have made one NCAA Tournament in the six years that Herb Sendek has been the head coach.

Needless to say, fans aren't too happy with the job he's been doing in Tempe.

Sure, he had James Harden a few years ago that gave him his one season of success, but what else has he done?

And, going 10-21 this year didn't help matters.

Should there be another horrible year next season, Arizona State should definitely make a run at Smart as he is one coach that can make them relevant again.

Plus, you figure other Pac-12 coaches will be making a run at Smart, so why shouldn't they throw their hat in the ring?

Oregon State

The Beavers haven't made the NCAA Tournament since 1990.

Sure, there's a tradition there—it's called losing.

And, this year was no different as the Beavers went 21-15 overall and 7-15 in a horrible Pac-12.

Yeah, they had 14 non-conference wins, but who were they against? Games against West Alabama, Howard (10-21), and Towson (1-31) are not exactly ones to be proud of.

I'll give them their victory over Texas and close loss to Vanderbilt, but the Beavers have never been a major player on the national stage.

Then again, VCU was never a major player on the national stage until Smart came on board.

Smart is definitely someone Oregon State needs to look at bringing in to get them to believe they can win.

Lousiana State

While there was some improvement this year over the last two years, Trent Johnson hasn't done the job that he's been expected to do in Baton Rouge.

Sure, he won 18 games this year, but what has he really done in the last three years since he went to the second round of the NCAA Tournament four years ago?

Should he struggle next year, LSU is going to have to make a change.

Smart would be the perfect candidate to replace him.

He could come in and immediately make an impact and make the Tigers competitors in the SEC.