Monica King, Shaka Smart's mother, played a pivotal role in his upbringing, providing support and guidance. Her influence helped shape Shaka's character and instilled values of resilience and ...

My mom called it the clipping service ... men's basketball Coach Shaka Smart learned that his maternal grandfather, Walter King, a man he called "the second-biggest influence in my life," passed ...

It worked for a while, but Smart's father wasn't a positive influence, as Shaka tells it. It led to Smart's mother asking him to leave again. He did. Now, Smart coaches a team with nine players ...

"Shaka Smart is a great man and a high-level coach ... "It’s based on being raised by a single mother, and me thinking that my coaches were the be-all and end-all," Smart said.

It made sense not because he's from Madison, Wisconsin, or that his mother still lives ... ago when a young Shaka, then an assistant at Akron, scouted him. When Smart took the job with the Golden ...

Shortly after arriving at Marquette in the spring of 2021, Shaka Smart flew to the hometown ... his first season excitedly called his mom when Smart got the Golden Eagles’ coaching job.