Texas lures Smart away from VCU
Shaka Smart is leaving Virginia Commonwealth to coach the Texas Longhorns.
VCU sports information director Scott Day confirmed to reporters gathered at the campus Thursday night that Smart was making the move. Smart met with VCU players earlier in the evening.
Texas Athletic Director Steve Patterson flew to Richmond on Thursday to close the deal.
Smart has been one of the hottest names in college coaching since leading the Rams to the Final Four in 2011. Patterson has zeroed in on bringing Smart to Texas immediately after firing former Longhorns coach Rick Barnes last weekend.
Smart won at least 26 games in each of his six seasons at VCU.
Stanford wins NIT
Chasson Randle hit two free throws with 3.4 seconds left in overtime, and Stanford won the second NIT title of his career, edging Miami, 66-64, in New York.
Sheldon McClellan’s double pumping three-point attempt that would have won it at the buzzer wasn’t close.
The Hurricanes (25-13) had rallied from a 13-point second-half deficit to force the extra period and led 64-61 with less than a minute left. But Randle twice got to the line, making four straight foul shots for Stanford (24-13), which also won the NIT in 1991 and 2012.
More money for Florida’s Donovan
Florida Coach Billy Donovan signed a one-year contract extension that raises his annual salary to about $4 million and keeps him under contract through the 2019-20 season.
Donovan and the Gators agreed to the deal last summer. It was signed in December, and the school released details Thursday.
The new contract paid Donovan $4.2 million in 2014-15, including a $250,000 signing bonus. His salary drops to $3.96 million for the next four years and then jumps to $4 million in the final year.
The total value of Donovan’s deal increased by a little more than $5.63 million. His buyout remained at $500,000 — giving him an affordable out if he chooses to jump to the NBA. Donovan also has a window from March 1 to April 1 to end the agreement without paying a buyout.
Donovan’s previous deal averaged $3.7 million annually.
The Gators have reached the Final Four four times during Donovan’s 19 seasons. He led them to national championships in 2006 and 2007, but is coming off his first losing season since 1998.
Marshall is staying at Wichita State
Wichita State Coach Gregg Marshall agreed to terms on a new contact, choosing to remain with the Missouri Valley powerhouse after receiving overtures from Alabama.
Terms of the agreement, which was reached late Wednesday, were not disclosed because the final contract still must be signed. It is expected to be a significant raise from the base salary of $1.85 million that Marshall was making on his previous seven-year rollover contract.
Marshall, 52, has led the Shockers to four straight NCAA tournaments, including a trip to the Final Four in 2013. Wichita State lost to Notre Dame in the Sweet 16 this season.
Etc.
Egidijus Mockevicius scored a career-high 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead host Evansville past Northern Arizona, 71-65, in the College Insider.com Tournament final in Indiana. ... Bowling Green fired Coach Chris Jans after “an investigation into his recent public conduct,” the university said in a statement. Jans led the Falcons to a 21-12 record — a nine-game improvement — in his first year at Bowling Green.
Florida forward Dorian Finney-Smith , the team’s leading scorer and rebounder this season, has decided to return for his senior year. ... Danny Hurley signed a sixyear contract at Rhode Island after leading the Rams to a 23-10 record and an NIT berth in his third season as coach.