Marquette men’s basketball coach Shaka Smart had a unique bond with the school president, Michael Lovell.
Lovell hired Smart in 2021saying at the introductory press conference that he was very impressed because the coach “really develops deep relationships with people.”
The men worked together as Smart rebuilt the program over the past three seasons, cutting networks together as Big East Conference regular-season and tournament champions in March 2023. But their relationship transcended basketball, as Lovell and Smart shared leadership ideas and a love of philosophical books like Viktor Frankl’s “Man’s Search for Meaning” .
“I’ve worked for six college presidents and he stands out in a lot of ways,” Smart said after the Golden Eagles won the conference tournament at Madison Square Garden in New York. “His compassion, his level of character, his integrity.
“A lot of these guys are cyborgs, man, they’re not real people. He’s a real person.”
After Lovell’s death at 57 earlier this week, Smart released a heartfelt statement on Thursday morning.
“I’ve been struggling to know what to say because if there was ever a person who transcended description, it was you.
“I don’t know how you did it, but you made everyone you touched better, without exception. Somehow, you balanced compassion and kindness with the tireless pursuit of excellence – and you did it with such grace and presence. his energy was his will. You taught us that we are capable of more.
“And now there is a crater-sized void in our world. Because of you and your inspiration, we will work together, little by little, to fill that void. We will continue your work. We will honor your legacy by the way we choose act, interact and respond.
“You were truly one of a kind, and that’s why our most powerful emotion should be gratitude. Thank you for uplifting us, for loving us, for showing us the way and now, for caring for us. We will forever be connected. We We are Marquette.”
More: Marquette Athletics Community Pays Tribute to President Michael Lovell
This article originally appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Shaka Smart Pays Touching Tribute to Marquette President Michael Lovell
