For Texas Longhorns head coach Shaka Smart, his coaching career will come full circle on Tuesday evening when he returns to Richmond, where he helped lead the VCU Rams to a Final Four berth in 2011.
Not only did that group help make Smart’s career and provide the boost that resulted in Smart coming to Austin in 2015, it was emblematic of Smart’s philosophy — using rangy athletes to implement his full-court press, termed Havoc, to disrupt opponents, create turnovers, and get out in transition for easy baskets.
Now in this third season with the Longhorns, Smart hasn’t fully installed that style of play, in part because he’s continuing to work on instilling the type of mentality that allows the press to work.