Marquette men’s head basketball coach Skaha Smart has been named the USBWA Henry Iba Coach of the Year, it was announced on Wednesday. It’s the first time that the 45-year old head coach has won a national coaching award in his career.
Smart led Marquette to a 29-7 record this season including 17-3 in conference play, leading to a conference regular season and conference tournament championships as well as a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The 29-7 record matches the best of his career as he also went 29-7 with the VCU Rams in the 2011-12 season.
The Golden Eagles in this year’s NCAA Tournament won their first game against Vermont in the Round of 64 78-61 before falling to Michigan State 69-60 in the Round of 32.
It’s the second award Smart has won this year for his coaching efforts, he also won the Big East Coach of the Year award.
In his 14 years as a head coach, Smart has now made the NCAA Tournament in 10 of 13 possible years. This includes each of the last three as he also made the 2020-2021 NCAA Tournament when he was with the Texas Longhorns.
For his career, Smart is 320-162 including 48-20 now at Marquette through his two seasons.
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