Longhorns pursue VCU’s Smart to succeed Barnes
Texas athletic director Steve Patterson is scheduled to travel today to meet with Virginia Commonwealth coach Shaka Smart to make an offer to coach the Longhorns, a person with knowledge of the trip told The Associated Press.
Texas hopes to i ntroduce Smart as its new coach as early as Friday, according to the person who requested anonymity because the talks with Smart are considered private.
Patterson has zeroed in on Smart since firing Rick Barnes last weekend after 17 seasons. Smart, 37, has been among the hot candidates for several highprofile jobs since leading VCU to the 2011 Final Four.
Smart’s teams have won at least 26 games each of the past six seasons.
Barnes’ Texas tea ms won three Big 12 titles and made 16 NCAA tournament appearances. But Texas hasn’t advanced past the first weekend of the tournament since 2008.
Details of Texas’ contract offer were not immediately available.
Smart’s compensation t his year adds up to $1.8 million. If he leaves before May 1, he will owe VCU a $500,000 buyout, and his contract also contains a provision that if he becomes the head coach at another institution, that school would have to play VCU in a home-and-home series, or pay VCU $250,000.
Barnes’ salary this past season was $2.62 million.
NIT stays in Garden
The NIT and Madison Square Garden have agreed to a threeyear contract extension to keep t he tournament at t he arena through 2018.
The NIT has been played at the Garden since its inception in 1938.
The deal announced Wednesday ensures that the 80th anniversary of the event will take place at the arena.
The first three rounds are played on campus sites, with the semifinals and title game in New York.
Miami faces Stanford tonight for this year’s championship. The NCAA now runs the NIT.
GOING PRO
Eastern Washington guard Tyler Harvey, the nation’s leading scorer this season, will skip his senior year and make himself available for the NBA draft.
Harvey made the announcement Wednesday in Cheney, Washington.
Harvey, a redshirt junior from Torrance, California, averaged 23.1 points per game and led the nation in 3 -point shots made while helping the Eagles to a 26-9 record and the school’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2004.
The 6-foot-4, 185-pound Harvey is projected for the second round of the NBA draft.
Kansas swingman Kelly Oubre Jr. announced Wednesday he is leaving for the NBA draft, skipping his final three seasons of eligibility after an up-anddown freshman year.
The 6-foot-7 guard started 27 games this past season, helping the Jayhawks win their 11th straight Big 12 title. He averaged 9. 3 points and five rebounds.
Oubre often disappeared in games last season, but scouts fell in love with his athleticism, defense and touch.
Oubre is expected to be among the first 20 players chosen in the June draft.
COACHING HIRES
The University of San Diego went with a familiar face when it came to hiring a new basketball coach.
La mont Smit h , a for mer player with t he Toreros, was introduced Wednesday as the school’s fifth men’s basketball coach since it became a Division 1 program in 1979. Smith, 39, was New Mexico’s assistant head coach the past two seasons under Craig Neal.
Virginia associate head coach Ritchie McKay is returning to Liberty as the men’s head coach. McKay, whose daughter Ellie is a sophomore at Liberty, was the Flames’ coach in 200709 before joining Tony Bennett’s staff at Virginia.