Havoc has a new home. On Thursday, Shaka Smart accepted the head coaching job at Texas left vacant following the firing of Rick Barnes last week. Smart leaves VCU with a 163-56 record, five NCAA Tournament Appearances and a Final Four appearance over six seasons, taking the Rams to new heights. Smart built a legitimate program in Richmond left behind by Anthony Grant when he took the job at Alabama. Rumors had been swirling that Smart might be in the running for the Alabama job after his predecessor at VCU was fired by the Crimson Tide, but in the end it was the Longhorns who were able to whisk him away from VCU.

Did he make the right decision in leaving VCU for Texas?

At VCU, Smart was the man. He took the program to places it had never been before. He had the job security of Jesus Christ. He was the deity of the Rams. There is no question Smart had complete and total control over his program. He created the resources he had from scratch. The recruiting outreach VCU has? Purely due to Shaka Smart and is a testament to his likability and success. There is no denying Smart’s prominence at VCU and the influence he held at that program.

So then why leave? If you’re the man at VCU and have the green light to control the program however you want, why not stay?

Because VCU is just a stepping stone.

I’m sorry Rams fans, but very few programs at VCU’s level have been able to maintain sustainable success without losing their coaching talent to bigger, more prestigious basketball schools. Gonzaga, Temple, Davidson and seemingly Wichita State are the only ones lucky enough right now, but most aren’t so lucky. VCU should be grateful for the six incredible years Shaka Smart brought to Richmond. Their program is in a much better place than it was six years ago and the foundation set in place by Smart will give their new coach a good push into a positive future. However, that doesn’t change the fact that VCU is just a stepping stone.

Texas is not a stepping stone. Texas already has the resources in place to give Shaka Smart everything he needs to become a championship coach. Recruiting in Texas as the biggest and best basketball program in the state and one of the top in the area is vastly different than recruiting in Virginia with greater or equal programs of Virginia, Richmond, Old Dominion, Maryland, Georgetown, West Virginia, North Carolina schools and more close by. The money and resources Texas and provide their head coach is not even comparable to what VCU can offer. Texas is not a basketball school, but if basketball starts winning and competing for Big 12 titles, the fans will come.

This does not even include the difference in money Texas can pay compared to VCU. The details of the contract between Texas and Smart are yet to be released, but last season Barnes was paid $2.62 million by the Longhorns. Smart made $1.8 million with the Rams: a significant amount, but still a few dollars short of what Texas can cough up. Not even considering a the difference in prestigious, the money Smart can make at Texas is much more than he could ever hope to make at VCU.

The ceiling at Texas is much higher than at VCU. Smart reached the ceiling at VCU by reaching a Final Four. He doesn’t have much more to reasonably accomplish with the Rams. To think VCU has a ceiling greater than a Sweet Sixteen is pretty mind-blowing, and if you really think about it, the Sweet Sixteen seems like a realistic best-case for VCU in any given season. For Texas, the ceiling is a national championship. Rick Barnes has had the talent to win a national championship a few times during the Rick Barnes-era but Barnes failed to develop the talent he had around him. Smart has shown he can do more with less, particularly during his Final Four run in 2011 which featured only one future NBA player in Troy Daniels, a current role player in the NBA who needed a little time in the D-League before making it to the Association. At Texas, Barnes has coached countless future NBA players, including several stars in the League. Smart will undoubtedly get the same type of players, and what he will be able to do with them will likely be better than what Barnes will able to turn that talent in to.

Smart’s move to Texas was a dynamite hire by the Longhorns and corrects exactly what they didn’t have with Barnes. Smart’s teams don’t underachieve, they overachieve. Smart virtually brought VCU from the CAA to the A-10 himself. Imagine what Smart could have done with the Texas teams of the last 10 years? Texas wouldn’t have struggled to make the tournament when they had enough talent to win the Big 12, I can tell you that much.

And so we revisit our original question: did Shaka Smart make the correct decision leaving VCU for Texas? After reviewing the facts, it seems the answer is an absolute and resounding yes.

Update: According to Texas AD Steve Patterson, Smart has signed a seven-year contract for an average of $3 million per year, with the first six years fully guaranteed.

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