Shaka Smart Parents: Meet Monica King, Winston Smart

Shaka Smart is an American college basketball coach who is currently the head coach of the Marquette Golden Eagles men’s basketball team.

Shaka Smart was born on April 8, 1977, in Madison, Wisconsin, to Winston Smart and Monica King.

Shaka Smart’s father was unsupportive of Smart and left the family in 1994. He grew up in Fitchburg and attended Oregon High School in Oregon, Wisconsin. He has six siblings: Sekou Lumumba, Alfie Olson, Ifoma Smart, Anika Aduesa Smart, Nkosi Mandela Smart, and J.M. Tyree.

Smart reportedly turned down admission to Harvard University after graduating from Oregon High School to attend Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio.

Smart received an NCAA postgraduate scholarship after graduating from Kenyon and went on to earn a master’s degree in social science from the California University of Pennsylvania.