MILWAUKEE — Establishing a culture is a priority for Marquette basketball head coach Shaka Smart.
"Relationships are the number one component of our culture because I believe that any team situation is going to be driven by how the guys feel about each other," Smart said. "And if there's genuine love, trust and care, then you have a chance to do something special."
Watch: Marquette men's basketball coach Shaka Smart talks with TMJ4 Sports Director Karley Marotta about how NIL deals are changing the landscape of college basketball.
With name, image and likeness opportunities reshaping college basketball, Smart acknowledges the landscape has changed dramatically — but says what happens inside the facility has not.
"For a long, long time, we had an amateur model in college sports where guys couldn't even go get a sandwich from around the corner without that being an NCAA violation," Smart said. "And now, you know, you have players in college basketball making seven figures."
"Once you get on the court, once you get in the locker room, once you get in the film room and you're talking about what goes into winning, then those things have not changed," Smart said.
When asked about Rick Pitino's comments that $10 million is a reasonable NIL number for Big East programs to stay competitive, Smart said that figure may actually fall short.
"If you want to compete to be in the top 25 in college basketball, that number is very light, believe it or not," Smart said.
Smart added that Pitino's broader point about the Big East investing collectively was well taken.
"What he meant was, hey, as a league, all the teams impact one another in the Big East, and if we want to elevate our league, and elevate the teams in our league, then everybody needs to invest," Smart said.
After prioritizing player development and retention in recent seasons, Smart says he turned to the transfer portal this offseason as part of a year-to-year evolution.
"It's really a year-to-year decision, based on who you have in your program and who's coming back and what high school guys are coming in," Smart said.
Smart says retaining current players remains a top priority, but that adding transfers Nolan Minessale and Sananda Fru alongside incoming high school recruits made sense for this roster cycle.
"There's a lot of different factors that go into it," Smart said. "So we've evolved, we made a decision really well before the season ended that it really made sense for this coming year's team to add some pieces. We felt like we needed help rebounding and finishing around the basket."
Part two with Shaka Smart — a closer look at who he is off the court — airs Monday, June 1 at 6 p.m. on TMJ4.
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