Fisk University has hired former Tennessee State University basketball player Jeremiah Crutcher as the new men’s basketball head coach. The announcement was made last Friday by the Tennessean.

Crutcher is replacing Georgia Tech and former NBA All-Star player Kenny Anderson. Anderson served as the men’s basketball coach for six seasons before resigning in April. The Bulldogs were 33-79 in six under Anderson.

“I am excited to get this hire completed,” said Fisk University Athletic Director Valencia Jordan. “Coach “Crutch” has strong ties in the community, and his AAU background has given him inroads across the country. There was a lot of interest in this position based on the quality of the candidates. Bulldog fans will find out real soon why this was a great choice.”

The former Whites Creek High School coach led the team to the semifinals of the TSSAA Class 2A state tournament back in March. The Cobras had a 26-6 record before losing to the undefeated Douglass during the tournament. Crutcher was with Whites Creek for four seasons, making tremendous improvements while there after going 11-21 in his first season.

Before that, Crutcher worked as an assistant at Pearl-Cohn, BGA, Lebanon, and his alma mater, Hunters Lane. At John Early Middle School, he held his first head coaching job from 2018 until 2020. As the all-time top scorer at Hunters Lane in 2006, Crutcher was an All-State and Tennessean All-Mid-State player. As a senior, he guided the Warriors to the state championship game.

Before transferring to Tennessee State, Crutcher played basketball for Okaloosa-Walton College (now Northwest Florida State College). A two-year starter at Tennessee State, Crutcher was a point guard. He averaged 8.3 points per game, shot 80.1% from the free-throw line, and led the Tigers in assists (111) as a senior.

This past season, Fisk finished 10-8 in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference and 14-16 overall.

Crutcher is not the only new edition to the Fisk University athletic department. The university also hired former Middle Tennessee State track star Marcelle “Mardy” Scales as its track coach last Friday.

Prior to coming to Fisk, Scales served as an assistant at Kennesaw State University and Cumberland.  While at Middle Tennessee State, Scales was a seven-time All-American from 2001–2004, winning the NCAA 100-meter outdoor collegiate title his junior year. He was also a seven-time Sun Belt individual champion and earned the title of Sun Belt male athlete of the year in 2004.