'Marquette is the place to be' for Shaka Smart

 

MILWAUKE (CBS 58) -- After his first two years on the sidelines, extending Shaka Smart almost made too much sense.

"This is one of the easier decisions that I've had to make," said Marquette Director of Athletics Bill Scholl.

Smart originally signed a six-year deal in 2021 when he joined the Golden Eagles. Scholl says the way Smart runs the program made them want to show a commitment from the athletic department to him giving him an extension through the 2029-30 season.

"No matter how you want to assess what happened over the last two years It's so in keeping with what we want it to be where we want it to go," said Scholl. "This is the right person to be here at Marquette."

For Smart, he feels he and the university are aligned in their vision.

"I'm not really focused on 2030, what I'm focused on 2023. But I will say this, I believe Marquette is the place to be," said Smart.

Marquette won both the Big East regular season and conference tournament championships last season. They had a program record 29 wins and its highest ranking in NCAA tournament history. Smart was rewarded with several coach of the year awards and Tyler Kolek was named Big East Player of the Year and David Joplin sixth man of the year. Smart feels the team is just reaching its own standard.

"Our mission is to create and sustain championship level success, we can't put that on a wall. in our office and then be surprised when it happens," said Smart.

But does that raise the team's expectations?

"Our expectations are always high," said Smart. "It does put a target on your back where others are going to want to beat you even more. Great. I love that."

Olivier-Maxence Prosper has left for the NBA Draft, but he is the lone starter not returning. There will be expanded roles for every returning rotational player and the three incoming freshman.

"Now the exciting thing is how do we take that with each of our guys and where they are and bring them together," said Smart. "How do we build championship habits that will in turn allow us to win a championship."

Marquette will also be making an international trip this Summer by heading to Italy in early August.