In less than a year, Patrick Crarey II has come into HBCU basketball and made a mark on both Florida A&M University (FAMU) and the SWAC. In the three previous years of the Rattlers being in the SWAC, they made the SWAC tournament just once. Robert McCullum’s 2021-2022 FAMU squad finished with an 11-7 conference record.
This year is different. After the Rattlers swept the season series with the Jackson State Tigers, they are in a massive tie for second place in the conference. This after missing the SWAC Tournament the last two seasons.
In the SWAC predicted order of finish, the Rattlers were predicted to finish 11th. That is not lost on Crarey or his players. “They gave me a one-year contract and they picked us 11th in the league. What were the expectations? I’m the only person here that had expectations,” Crarey said in his postgame press conference.
For the most part, the Rattlers were in control of the game, but a series of errors and a hot-shooting Jackson State team made the HBCU hoops contest much closer down the stretch. The Rattlers’ 76-71 victory gives FAMU an 8-4 conference record. It is now tied with Bethune-Cookman, Jackson State, Texas Southern, and their Monday home opponent Alcorn State. Southern University holds the top spot in the conference and the Rattlers will again face the Jaguars on March 3, the last home game before the SWAC Tournament in Atlanta, GA.
Crarey was hired by former VP/Director of Athletics Tiffani-Dawn Sykes. In a hire filled with complications, of which Crarey had zero involvement, the FAMU Board of Trustees would not approve of a multi-year contract. Former FAMU President Dr. Larry Robinson approved a one-year deal for Crarey, which was in line with his authority.
Crarey’s bet on himself is paying dividends, but he’s still not satisfied. At the JSU game, Patrick Crarey was active in encouraging the HBCU crowd to cheer for the team. At a couple of timeouts, he would face the home crowd urging them to get involved in the game.
His players have bought into his system and are working the platform at a high rate of success, winning 8-of-9 of their last games. Still, coming into tonight’s game the Rattlers were not considered the favorite.
“We don’t worry about it (low expectations). We’re a home underdog to Jackson State and we won 7 of the last 8 games. There are no expectations for us. We set the level of expectations on how we work on a daily basis and I expect them to come in and be focused on the task at hand and focus every practice to make sure that they can play the best that they can play for themselves, for their family, for their teammates, and for their school,” Crarey concluded.
