DUQUESNE HIGHLIGHTS/POSTGAME

.

I know there’s a few people out there that enjoy Shaka Smart’s postgame comments, so I’ll try to keep posting them. Here’s Coach Smart after Saturday’s win at Duquesne:

.

And because this can’t be posted enough:

SMART WINS 100TH, LOOKS TO NEXT 100

Shaka Smart is 100-31 in four seasons at VCU

PITTSBURGH – VCU Coach Shaka Smart earned the 100^th win of his short, albeit wildly successful, career in Saturday night’s 90-63 runaway victory over Duquesne at the Consol Energy Center. The feat was common knowledge among fans and media, but inside the Smart’s inner circle, many were unaware a milestone had been reached.

“I really didn’t know it was your 100^th win, but congratulations,” said sophomore Treveon Graham said as he turned to Smart in the postgame press conference.

You’ll have to forgive Graham for his ignorance. Smart purposefully doesn’t make a big deal out of things like this. And it’s no small occurrence. Smart reached his 100 wins in 131 games. Only 29 coaches in college basketball history have done so faster. He’s also the 12^th coach to win 100 in his first four seasons.

Not that he’s unappreciative of the success. But to him, it’s a shower of individual appreciation for an accomplishment that is anything but a solo act.

“The biggest thing for me is that it’s not just my 100^th win,” Smart said Saturday. “It’s [Associate Head Coach] Mike Rhoades’, it’s [Assistant Coach] Will Wade’s, David Hinton’s, Darius Theus’, Troy Daniels’. All those guys have been around for the last four years, and our team has been able to make a lot of progress.”

QUICKLY: CLIPS AND NOTES

PITTSBURGH – More to follow on VCU’s 90-63 win at Duquesne later, but a few pieces of housekeeping:

• With the win, Shaka Smart improves to 100-31 all-time. He is the third VCU coach, joining J.D. Barnett and Sonny Smith, to reach that plateau. Smart reaches 100 wins in the 30th fewest games in NCAA history and is just the 12th coach to top the century mark in his first four seasons.
• VCU’s victory was its 13th straight, the third longest in school history. The Rams won 16 in a row Jan. 18-March 13, 1981 and 15 straight Jan. 15-March 4, 1983.
• Sophomore Treveon Graham scored 20 points in 21 minutes of play. It’s his fifth 20-point game of the season and his third in five games. Graham is averaging 20.5 points per game in his last six contests.
• VCU knocked down 12-of-29 three-pointers Saturday, its most in five games.
• Senior Troy Daniels buried two 3-pointers to become the fourth VCU player to hit 200 in his career. He joins B.A. Walker, Joey Rodriguez and Bradford Burgess on that exclusive list.

A FEW HIGHLIGHTS:

.

.