Shaka Smart could replace Buzz Williams as Marquette's head coach

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- The next basketball coach at Marquette University very well could be Shaka Smart. But nothing is confirmed at this point.

The 36-year-old Smart is a native of the Madison area -- and one of the hottest young coaches in the game. He has taken Virginia Commonwealth to four consecutive NCAA tournaments -- winning at least one tourney game three different times.

Smart turned down overtures from schools such as Illinois, UCLA and Minnesota in recent years.

In five years as coach of the Rams, Smart won the CBI Tournament and then went to four straight NCAA Tournaments.

Three years ago, Smart shocked the college basketball world by leading VCU to the Final Four as a #11 seed.

Smart was an assistant at Florida, Clemson, Akron and Dayton after playing at Kenyon College in Ohio.

There was excitement on the MU campus on Monday as students followed the story on Twitter.

"It's a pretty big name thrown around college basketball these days. I think the excitement of bringing in a new head coach is really going to help Marquette out, and not gloomy about the past and not gloomy about Buzz (Williams)," one student told FOX6 News.

"He was able to get a program to what sounds like nothing to prominence. Hopefully he can take a program of prominence to the next level," another student told us.

MONITOR FOX6 News and FOX6Now.com for updates on this developing story.