Why more mid-majors should hire head coaches from smaller levels

Welcome to Don’t Forget About Us. The world’s first (unconfirmed) newsletter dedicated to mid-major basketball. We’ll get started with transfer portal talk soon, but first…

Did you know?

In 2004, Florida A&M made the NCAA Tournament despite having a losing record (15-17; 10-8 MEAC). They were a No. 16 seed and made the First Four, where they beat Lehigh. It’s the only time the Rattlers have won an NCAA Tournament game.

I mention FAMU because today we’ll be talking about…

On the Docket:

FAMU goes outside the box: Florida A&M went outside the box for their next head coaching hire. It might not work, but here’s why I like the approach.

Coaching carousel winners: There was plenty of movement in the mid-major coaching scene. Here’s which schools impressed me the most with their hires.

One Big Thing…

FAMU is rattling the status quo…

Florida A&M doesn’t have a heralded men’s basketball program. Last season, the Rattlers went 6-23, including 4-14 in conference play, leading to the decision to part ways with head coach Robert McCullum.

In his place, Florida A&M went outside the box, hiring Patrick Crarey II as the 15th head coach in program history.

Unless you’re stuck in the weeds, you’ve likely never heard of Crarey.

For the last three seasons, Crarey has been the head coach of St. Thomas University, an NAIA program in Miami.

Crarey compiled a 61-27 record with St. Thomas, making the NAIA National Tournament twice. In 2022-23, he led the Bobcats to the program’s best finish, making it to the Round of 16.

By all accounts, this hire is outside the box. Crarey has never coached a Division 1 program. Heck, he’s never coached in an NCAA setting.

But what he lacks in Division 1 coaching experience, he makes up for with head coaching experience. Before joining St. Thomas, Crarey was the head coach of Washington Adventist University for 11 seasons, making it to the NAIA Tournament three times.

There’s no guarantee this hire works, but it’s an outside-the-box hire, and it’s something more schools should follow.

Schools like FAMU don’t have the resources to compete with most programs at this level. As a result, head coaches have to get creative to build a formidable roster.

While a high-major assistant could get creative, high school and NAIA coaches have been getting creative for years.

At a school like St. Thomas, recruiting is mostly limited to local prospects who aren’t perceived as “Division 1-level” players. That limits the recruiting pool to a significantly smaller number.

Even their transfers are often players from other NAIA schools, as most players don’t try and drop down multiple levels.

While the recruiting pool is larger at FAMU, it isn’t as large as other mid-major programs. They aren’t recruiting All-Americans or top 200 prospects. Instead, they’re primarily recruiting locally.

Samford had a similar hiring strategy when they hired longtime high school coach Bucky McMillan as their head coach in 2020. At the time of his hiring, McMillan had only coached at Mountain Brook High School, never touching a Division 1 sideline as a player or coach.

McMillan is 77-41 at Samford since taking over, winning the Southern Conference twice. This season, they made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 24 years.

This season, Samford’s roster consisted almost entirely of players from Alabama and the surrounding areas (5 from Alabama and 6 from Florida).

Having coached in Florida for the last few years, Crarey will likely be able to dip into those contacts to build his roster for the Rattlers. Recruiting locally will also help FAMU save money in its athletic budget.

It might be enough for FAMU to close the resources gap and help them push toward a SWAC Championship.

Again, this isn’t the case for every mid-major program. Plenty can hire a highly-touted assistant coach from a high-major program and recruit nationally. But for those who need to close the gap, hiring from lower levels might be the difference.

And the winner is…

The coaching carousel isn’t over yet, but there have been enough movements to discuss which schools have made impressive hires.

Here are some schools that stand out for their head coach hires:

Houston Christian: Craig Doty (Emporia State)

A successful coach at the NJCAA, NAIA, and NCAA Division II level, Emporia State’s Craig Doty was courted by Houston Christian to lead their program. Doty won 97 games at Emporia State, making the NCAA DII title in 2022-23. In 2017-18, Doty won the NAIA National Championship with Graceland.

This is a similar hire to Crarey, and I think it has the potential to work for Houston Christian. He’ll just need time because HCU isn’t an easy job to win at.

Eastern Washington: Dan Monson (LBSU)

Dan Monson obviously should’ve never been fired from Long Beach State. Yes, there were some rough patches this season, but he still posted a winning record across 17 seasons. Sustaining success over that time is difficult and the sign of a strong coach.

I think the move back to Washington benefits him, and he should find success at Eastern Washington in due time.

Central Arkansas: John Schulman (Alabama-Huntsville)

John Schulman is a certified ball coach. He lost just 39 games in charge of Alabama-Huntsville (D2), making it to the NCAA Division II Tournament in five consecutive seasons.

I think it’s hard to win at any level, especially if you’re doing it consistently. Schulman has proven he’s a winner, and there’s little doubt from me that he can’t do so again.

FAU: John Jakus (Baylor assistant)

I lasted one newsletter without being biased and that should be applauded.

Jakus is a long-time Baylor assistant who comes to Boca Raton with rave reviews. However, it’s sort of shocking that it took him this long to get his first head coaching gig, though it appears he was pretty subjective with choosing his first job.

There is a rebuild that will have to happen at FAU, but there’s a good chance for immediate success.