President Obama has tapped Virginia Commonwealth University men’s basketball coach Shaka Smart to add some star power to the Saturday kickoff of his reelection campaign in Richmond.
Smart will be one of the speakers at Saturday’s rally on the VCU campus, providing a youthful voice well known there for guiding the mid-major school to consecutive NCAA tournaments, including a Final Four appearance in 2011. According to a press release, Smart is “hosting” the event, which is one of two Obama will hold in swing states this weekend.
Also scheduled to participate in the program are Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., Richmond Mayor Dwight Jones and former Virginia governor and Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Tim Kaine. A full list of participants is coming out Friday.
The pick of Smart could rub some Obama supporters from back home the wrong way. Smart turned down an aggressive pursuit by the University of Illinois — the flagship institution of his home state — to take the vacant men’s head coaching position there. That position was eventually filled by Ohio University coach John Groce.
Incidentally, Obama will stop in Ohio before his Virginia stop.
Full disclosure: This reporter is a University of Illinois alumnus.
