The 2025 HBCU basketball coaching carousel has created an intriguing matchup for Monday night.
Most coaches will say they don’t circle dates on calendars. However, Monday night’s game against the Florida A&M Rattlers will hold a special place for Grambling coach Patrick Crarey.
In 2024, Crarey was given a one-year contract to coach FAMU. This is due to a contentious environment between Vice President/Athletic Director Tiffani-Dawn Sykes and the FAMU Board of Trustees. Once she identified Crarey, she presented the multi-year contract offer to the FAMU Board who rejected it. It was the first time that exchange had happened in the history of FAMU. Sykes would use her authority for a single year deal which was approved by then FAMU President Larry Robinson, Ph.D. Most in Rattler nation sided with Sykes. I even warned of the most realistic outcome in an article published on HBCU Gameday.
While the entire exchange had zero to do with Crarey or his abilities, it felt like it did to many. Most importantly to Crarey. He coached the HBCU squad in the 2024-2025 season with a chip on his shoulder. What ensued was one of the best seasons FAMU men’s basketball had seen in some time. In one year Crarey took the Rattlers from the lower echelon of the conference to legitimate contenders for the SWAC. He also led the Rattlers to their first-ever tournament win in the SWAC tournament as they defeated the Prairie View Panthers in the first round of the 2025 SWAC Men’s Basketball Tournament.
Crarey took opportunity at Grambling after success at FAMU
Crarey was hired to replace Donte’ Jackson at Grambling, who was hired at Alabama A&M last month after eight seasons at GSU. Crarey led FAMU to a 13-16 record, winning 10 games in the SWAC after the program had won just seven games all the previous year. FAMU attempted to offer Crarey a two-year extension worth up to $170k earlier in the year. The posting for the Grambling State job started at $230k.
In 2022-23, Crarey guided St. Thomas to a program-record 26 wins and a Round of 16 finish in the NAIA Tournament. His squad set school records in home wins (15-1) and three-pointers made, with Dalon Dean and Milton Matthews becoming the first players in school history to hit 100 three-pointers in a season.
Crarey’s frustration in how he had been treated only showed once. In a postgame expression after defeating Jackson State, he unloaded what had been on his mind. He would never mention it again while at FAMU.
“They gave me a one year contract and they picked us 11th in the league,” he said. “What were the expectations? I’m the only person here that had expectations. I knew that the expectations would be good to go and our players believed because I believed in them and they believed in us. We don’t worry about it. We’re a home underdog to Jackson State and we won seven of the last eight 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 what 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 the school.”
Ward expects a tough Grambling team on Monday night
With a 67-59 win over the Southern Jaguars, Ward has the Rattlers again playing solid basketball. The Jaguars were picked second in the SWAC and has a physical and talented. FAMU’s defensive effort, which has become their hallmark, held the Jaguars under 60 points. The only other time this season the Jaguars were held under 60 points was against Illinois. His team took the SWAC preseason No.1 pick Bethune-Cookman to the final seconds before falling 87-83 to the rival HBCU.
“One of our goals is, defensively we gotta hang our hats regardless of where we’re playing,” Ward said. “That has to be as a non-negotiable force. Effort on the defensive end, even when things weren’t going our way, we were able to find a way to get stops. Offensively we found a way to put the ball in the basket whether it was driving or making the next play.”
In the game against Southern, the Rattlers held the Jags to just .365 shooting, contesting virtually every shot. They outrebounded SU 39-32 and limited just them to just two players in double-figures. SU’s top scorer Michael Jacobs managed to score 20 points, but nine of those were from the charity strip. The harassing Rattler defense limited him to 5-of-18 shooting from the field.
Monday night at 7:00PM, the Rattlers will tip off against the Grambling State Tigers at the Lawson Center. The game will air live on SWAC-TV as well.