The FAMU 2024-25 season basketball has come to an end. Both teams came home from the SWAC tournament within the first few days, but with two very different feelings about their outcomes.
Women’s Basketball
Despite several key players, like Cheyenne McEvans, returning and the addition of players like Sabou Gueye, the Lady Rattlers’ record reflected lateral growth. Finishing 9-20 in two consecutive seasons is below the expectation Head Coach Bridgette Gordon set for her team.
FAMU was ranked 5th in the conference preseason poll and expected to make some noise in the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament, however, they finished 9th out of 12 teams and were defeated by Prairie View A&M University in the first round.
Despite their defense creating 18 points per game from turnovers, the Lady Rattlers’ inability to score in the half-court and turnovers stand out as negatives from this season.
The biggest instance of this was their home game against Jackson State, where the Lady Rattlers lost despite holding their opponent to only 40 points. This season, FAMU averaged 20.8 turnovers.
However, the season wasn’t all negative. The Lady Rattlers led the SWAC in offensive efficiency this season, shooting 40% from the field, making 30 more shots than the next best school on the same number of attempts. This is something that Coach Goron will look to build upon in the future.
Gordon’s patented “pressure cooker” defense was exceptional this year. The defense was deceptively good, averaging 9 steals a game and holding teams to an average of 66 points per game. FAMU averaged the second most blocks in the SWAC this season, led by Zikeyah Carter with 25 and Sabou Gueye with 21.
Defensively, coach Gordon’s philosophy has more than resonated in her first two seasons, and all signs lead to it continuing next year.
Men’s Basketball
The men’s basketball team seemingly surprised everyone but themselves this year.
Despite being projected to finish 11th in the SWAC, the Rattlers finished 7th and went 10-8 in conference play. Led by head coach Patrick Crarey II, the Rattlers finished the regular season with a 13-16 record (most regular-season wins since 2008) and won the first SWAC tournament game in FAMU history.
While the season was extremely successful, the Rattlers have areas to improve upon next season.
The most noticeable deficit in the Rattlers’ performance this year was the inability to bring home close games. Over half (9) of their losses were by two possessions or less. If three of those games are won, they’re well above .500 and have even more favorable seeding headed into the SWAC tournament.
A big obstacle that the Rattlers will have to overcome in the 2026 season will be the departure of the SWAC player of the year, Sterling Young, to the transfer portal. He had a stellar season, averaging 17 points per game with a career high 37 against UAPB. The Rattlers will have to look elsewhere for the same playmaking ability.
FAMU appears to have found its guy in Crarey. With his quick turnaround of the program, it wouldn’t be surprising to see major transfers headed to Tallahassee. The future looks bright for FAMU men’s basketball for the first time in a long time.
Photo Credit- Melinda Nagy/Adobe Stock
