Just two weeks separate Florida A&M men’s basketball from officially tipping off the Charlie Ward era.
After two exhibition games versus Edward Waters (Oct. 21) and at fellow Tallahassee NCAA Division I basketball team Florida State (Oct. 26), the Rattlers will open their 2025-2026 season on a trip to Tampa to face the South Florida Bulls on Nov. 3.
FAMU’s home opener at the Al Lawson Center is versus Kennesaw State on Nov. 8.
Those games will mark the college coaching debut for Ward, a 1993 Heisman winner and national championship quarterback for the FSU Seminoles, as well as an 11-year NBA veteran point guard, primarily with the New York Knicks.
Ward was hired away from being Tallahassee’s Florida High School head boys’ basketball coach in April to replace former FAMU coach Patrick Crarey II, who now leads fellow Southwestern Athletic Conference team Grambling State’s men’s basketball team.
“I’m enjoying coaching this group,” Ward said at SWAC Media Day on Oct. 8.
“Of course, just like any team anywhere, you have different challenges that you have to navigate through. But the group that we’ve been able to assemble within a short period of time has been a group that’s willing to work, put the time in, learn from the challenges and different things we’ve had in our lives, and make the best of it.”
SWAC voters picked FAMU men’s basketball to finish eighth out of 12 teams this season. Additionally, FAMU guard Jordan Chatman and forward Tyler Shirley garnered All-SWAC second team preseason honors.
“Just excited to see how we’ll compete this year. Not sure how many games we’ll win, but we will show up each game to compete,” Ward said. “Every time we get an opportunity to be in the film room, weight room, and on the court, it’s an opportunity for us to learn and grow as a team towards our goals.”
Entering Ward’s inaugural staff consists of assistants Sebastian Aguilar, Eugene Granger, Jarrod Lazarus, and Rob Lewis.
Moreover, the Rattlers have seven transfers and five returners from last year’s team.
Key pickups for the Rattlers could be forward Anquan Boldin Jr., who last played for the University of Buffalo Bulls and is the son of the former NFL star wide receiver. Jaquan Sanders, a guard from Hofstra and the 2022 Mr. New York Basketball as a high schooler, is also joining the Rattlers.
Ward says his debut FAMU team “has good depth” and has done well in practices with a mix of various lineups.
“Practice has been very competitive, which is what we want and what you need because iron sharpens iron,” Ward said. “We’re getting an opportunity to see different lineups ― big lineups, small lineups. It’s been very beneficial to see them competing. And the guys are starting to get what we’re trying to get accomplished from a defensive and offensive standpoint.”
Gerald Thomas, III is a multi-time award-winning journalist for his coverage of the Florida A&M Rattlers at the Tallahassee Democrat.
Follow his award-winning coverage on RattlerNews.com and contact him via email at GDThomas@Tallahassee.com or on the app formerly known as Twitter @3peatgee.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Charlie Ward’s FAMU basketball team will ‘compete’ in his debut season as head coach
Reporting by Gerald Thomas III, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
