RICHMOND, Va. – Even at the young age of 33, Head Coach Shaka Smart of the Virginia Commonwealth University men's basketball program has seen a lot of high-level collegiate basketball.

With his wealth of knowledge and experience in various levels of college basketball, Smart has been selected as the Colonial Athletic Association representative for the USA Today Coaches Poll for the upcoming 2010-11 campaign.

The poll is released weekly throughout the year on Monday evening, beginning with the preseason poll which will be announced late in October.

The committee is made of 31 coaches across the country, with each conference having one representative on the panel.

After a four-year playing career at Kenyon College, Smart served as a member of the coaching staff at college powers such as Dayton, Akron, Clemson and Florida.

In his first year at the helm of the Rams last year, Smart echoed in the nation's most wins by any first-year head coach with 27, which included a run to the 2010 College Basketball Invitational Championship.

Some of the other panelists include NCAA Championship coaches Jim Boeheim (Syracuse) and Gary Williams (Maryland) as well as Tommy Amaker (Harvard), Dana Altman (Creighton) and Phil Martelli (Saint Joseph's).


http://vcuathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2010...0915nf9jes