Smart Passes Up Harvard

A few weeks ago, the Harvard men’s basketball team missed its chance to be a part of March Madness.

But the team also missed out on the chance to call a 2011 Final Four coach among its alumni. According to Slate.com, Shaka Smart, the coach of Virginia Commonwealth University, turned down Harvard to play basketball at Kenyon College in Ohio.

Smart’s 11th-seeded VCU team—the clear Cinderella of the 2011 tournament—will square off against Butler on Saturday night in the national semifinals.

Based on his collegiate performance, Harvard could have used Smart during his years as a player. Smart attended Kenyon between 1995 and 1999 and was named to the All-USA Academic Team as a senior.

Crimson basketball had some of its better years in the late ’90s, but the historically unsuccessful program never seriously made a bid at the Ancient Eight title. Harvard only managed to finish above .500 once in league play—the team finished tied for second at 10-4 in the Ivies in 1997, but never posed a threat to a Princeton team that didn’t lose a league game.

Sydney Johnson, Princeton’s current head coach, was a senior during the Tigers’ undefeated campaign. His current Princeton squad lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament to another of this year’s Final Four teams, fourth-seed Kentucky.

In the other three years during Smart’s collegiate career, Harvard finished 7-7, 6-8, and 7-7 in league play during the 1996, 1998, and 1999 seasons, respectively.

So Smart may not have been able to lead the Crimson to an Ivy title a decade ago. But we can pretend.