RICHMOND, Va. (AP) Shaka Smart smiles with a told-you-so look that is part amusement, and part frustration.

Two years after leading VCU to the Final Four and becoming one of the stars of college basketball, Smart has gone through his third consecutive offseason where he was mentioned as a candidate for job openings at major programs. But he's still writing on dry erase walls in an office overlooking the Rams' home court, trying to find overlooked gems on the recruiting trail and tweaking the aggressive defensive style he calls "havoc."

On the expanding urban campus, with a contract extension this year that now pays him $1.5 million a year and runs through 2023, along with fundraising well under way for a basketball practice facility, the 35-year-old Smart seems more than content.