VCU’s 2011 Final Four appearance was an incredible story. Many journalists wrote about and captured every detail of the team and their rise to glory as America’s Cinderella story.  But the story ends with a loss to a former Cinderella, Butler. Since, life has changed forever for Rams’ Coach Shaka Smart.

Rams basketball coach Shaka Smart has developed a family mentality within VCU's basketball program.

It was mid March and the 11^th seeded VCU Rams had just defeated USC (59-46) in the first round of the NCAA tournament. A nice win, but not a huge shocker as PAC-10 basketball has hit a rough patch in recent years.

The Rams second round opponent was against Big East perennial power, Georgetown. They not only beat the Hoyas (74-56), they dominated them. Impressive, but Georgetown backed into the tournament and wasn’t the same team they were at the start of the year.

When VCU hammered the Big Ten’s Purdue Boilermakers (94-76) in the Sweet Sixteen, this is when I started to believe this team was for real. No longer were they considered a team playing over their heads and sinking prayers. The Rams could ball!

Florida State nearly ended the Rams run to reach the Elite Eight, but an overtime win (72-71) kept the dream alive. Up next for the Rams they were pitted against the storied Kansas Jayhawks for a trip to the Final Four.

Again, the Rams would out hustle, out play, out “Smart” one of the NCAA’s elite programs, knocking off the number one seeded Jayhawks (71-61). They would become the second CAA team (George Mason in 2006) to reach the Final Four before losing to Butler (70-62), one game short of the National Championship.

During VCU’s tournament run, I couldn’t quite figure out exactly how this underdog squad managed to achieve success game after game against elite programs.

It wasn’t until they lost to Butler when I finally saw the light. I figured it out. I watched how the players handled themselves after the game. I listened to Shaka Smart address the media. This was a family. And although extremely disappointed by not winning the National Championship, they realized what had been achieved. A group of men had bonded and succeeded as one unit.

The secret of their success was how a coach pulled together a group of players and inspired them to play for each other, for their university, for their family!

Yes, the Rams were and are a family. And the head of that family, Coach Shaka Smart, unified a group of young men to play unselfishly, focused, and hungry.

He is their friend, their mentor, and when needed, their disciplinarian. Not an easy task in today’s coaching world.

It all starts with respect. Smart treats the players with a devoted respect, and they respond accordingly.

Here you have a mid-major coach, who reached the pinnacle of his profession who could have named his price and filled any coaching vacancy in the NCAA. Instead, he received an extensive boost in his current VCU contract–not nearly as much as he could have commanded in the open market–and remained committed to the Rams’ family.

When Shaka Smart's grandfather, Walter King, passed away the week of the Final Four, he lost the person who taught him the importance of family.

He cares for each of his players as if they were his own.  To be a part of the VCU program is to be a part of a family.

Prior to the Final Four, Smart lost his grandfather, Walter King, the man who helped develop and forge his persona.

Raised by his mother in a single parent home, King provided Smart with certain influences that can only be provided from a male-teaching-a-male perspective.

Now, more so than ever, Smart utilizes and emulates the importance of family King had taught him over the years.

On September 25, 2011, Shaka Smart and wife Maya welcomed a baby girl (Zora) to the Smart/VCU family.

Life and coaching will never be the same for Shaka Smart. He now has to make sacrifices to keep the VCU family successful while maintaining proper balance with his immediate family.

“There is only 24 hours in the day. I would like to spend all 24 hours with my daughter and my team, but you can’t,” Smart said.

Initially, when I started the discussion between balancing family and coaching responsibilities, Smart gave the impression that he would prefer not to include his family in the conversation.

After explaining in detail what I had hoped to achieve, he warmed to the idea (somewhat).

“I appreciate every minute I have with her (Zora). It’s the quality of my time now, not the quantity. Something every working parent learns to appreciate.”

As the conversation continued, Smart wouldn’t comment on questions pertaining to Maya’s perspective and how she was coping as a new mother and as a coach’s wife.

“She knew when we met what I do for a living and the time I commit to my passion. It doesn’t mean I don’t care for my family, it means I have to sacrifice things,” Smart explained in a way that didn’t appear to have that family motif tied to it.

Don’t get me wrong, Smart was there to talk basketball, not about his family. So when I bombarded him with questions about balancing parenting with coaching, it caught him a bit off guard.

As I wrapped up with Shaka and my questions pertaining to Maya and Zora continued, Smart repeatedly responded, “You have to ask her.” (Meaning Maya)

I got the hint and understood where his focus was at that time. His family life is separate from his basketball life. A mindset most, if not all, coaches adopt in order to mentally cope and to avoid dragging the family into the high-pressured world of competitive college sports.

So I took Shaka’s advice and contacted Maya.

First, let me tell you what a pleasant surprise it was that Maya was willing to spend what little free time she has talking with this reporter.

Shaka and Maya Smart share a quiet moment in what was otherwise a non-stop circus during VCU's run to the NCAA Final Four last season.

Maya Smart provided a half hour of pleasant conversation about how her life has changed with the addition of Zora, and how Shaka juggles parenting with his commitment to VCU basketball.

“This time of year he (Shaka) is focused on basketball. During the off-season, the free time he ordinarily had, he spent with the family,” she said.

“He has always been family oriented, but when it was just us it was a lot easier,” Maya explained, detailing the adjustments the couple had to make with Zora entering the picture.

When asked to describe how Shaka is able to juggle his schedule between coaching and family, Maya said it was matter of Shaka having to sacrifice the little things he was once able to do with the minimal free time he had.

“He doesn’t have the time to relax and do the things he would normally do when he had fee time. Something had to suffer. So his time reading and his hobby collecting motivational quotes has to wait.”

She explains that Shaka has even brought Zora into his coaching world, “He will watch game film with Zora sitting on his lap.”

“Request for his time is demanding. He sleeps less and he’s in constant motion. But he finds away to be a presence in both our lives. He’s a coach but still an active father, reading to Zora and bathing her.”

Chances are Shaka Smart and the VCU Rams basketball team will not reach the Final Four again this season.

Always raising the bar, Smart will be disappointed with anything less. But with each loss he’ll arrive home, visit with Maya, and open the bedroom door of a peaceful Zora deep in sleep without a worry in the world.

Perspective re-established!

The quote below is for Shaka since he has so little time these days to track them down. I believe it’s appropriate as part of this article:

“The only rock I know that stays steady, the only institution I know that works, is the family.” - Lee Iacocca