With second state title, North Crowley basketball coach adds to absurd resume
With less than a minute remaining in the Class 6A Division I state championship game, North Crowley’s bench was ready to celebrate.
Head coach Tommy Brakel gave them a subtle reminder: Do it with class. And as the final buzzer sounded, he stood on the sideline with his arms crossed, taking in the scene as he tallied his 828th career victory to end his 28th season.
Brakel’s second state championship and first since 2008 gave Fort Worth its first title in 18 years and added him to an exclusive list of Fort Worth head coaches to win multiple state titles.
Yes, that list includes Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Robert Hughes. When Brakel’s name was mentioned in the same category as the legendary Flying Wildcats’ coach, he put a swift stop to it.
“Don’t mention me in the same breath as Robert Hughes,” Brakel said. “He is the greatest. I grew up watching him. Idolizing him. Watching his Dunbar teams.”
With 1,333 wins, five state titles and 35 district championships, Hughes is the undisputed best Texas high school boys basketball coach ever, and arguably the most accomplished nationwide. He has the most wins of any coach.
When Brakel started his career in 1998, Hughes was looked at as the standard of excellence. Brakel said he tried his best to watch and learn from a man he has the utmost respect for.
“If you want to be the best, you’ve got to be the best in Fort Worth,” Brakel said. “And there’s no being the best basketball team in Fort Worth without going through the Flying Wildcats and Robert Hughes. All the respect in the world.”
And while Brakel’s resume can’t compare to Hughes’, that doesn’t mean it isn’t one of the best in Texas history, especially in the modern era.
What it takes to succeed in Class 6A
Brakel’s first six seasons at North Crowley were at the Class 4A level, then he continued to tally the majority of his 828 wins and 60 playoff victories in the UIL’s largest classification, first at 5A and now 6A.
He’s gone through an era where player movement is common, and competition, especially in Class 6A Dallas-Fort Worth basketball, is fierce. DFW’s 8-0 sweep of this year’s state titles makes that more evident than ever.
And while competition is strong, there is also a more human side of coaching that involves leading athletes to be strong men on and off the court. That part of the job changes with time.
“We’re humans, and especially with teenagers, every generation is different,” North Crowley associate head coach Chris Hastings said. “We talk about these kids sometimes, and say, ‘Oh my, we would never do that.’ But we have to remember our parents said the same thing about us. He has an ability to adjust, just like a true leader would.”
As humans changed, so did the game. The 3-pointer and floor spacing became increasingly important, and repeatedly feeding the post decreased in value.
Some old-school coaches stick to their roots, but the Panthers adjusted, staying near the top of Texas basketball.
The Panthers have 11 regional semifinal appearances since their last title in 2008. It seemed like North Crowley was due to make a state run. As Brakel frequently notes, teams need to be more than good to win big games in the Class 6A playoffs.
A little bit of luck is involved, and the ball has to “bounce the right way.” The Panthers were certainly on the right side of chance with a thrilling state semifinal victory over Duncanville.
But the Panthers’ success over decades is far from lucky, and couldn’t be more consistent.
Inside North Crowley’s absurd longevity
North Crowley has 28 district losses in its 28-year history, with a 92.86% district win rate. Six of those losses came in the first two seasons. The Panthers have missed the playoffs once, and they have 23 district titles with 14 undefeated district runs.
Brakel’s Panthers have an absurd 94.43% home record that includes win streaks of 66, 65 and 30 games. In recent years, they’ve dealt with Mansfield Lake Ridge, Mansfield and Crowley — a group of talented, worthy programs. Things won’t get any easier, as North Crowley will enter a district with Duncanville next season.
While Brakel coaches basketball, he also serves as North Crowley’s athletic coordinator, overseeing all sports and taking on a whole lot more responsibility. That role usually falls to the head football coach.
It’s an ultra-important position at a school like North Crowley that has celebrated a flurry of athletic success, which includes a Class 6A Division I football state title in 2024. A culture built on support, energy, talent and state-leading facilities has led the way.
“We want all of our athletic programs showing support for one another and being proud of one another for the accomplishments that we’ve ever been able to have,” Brakel said.
Brakel is on pace to hit the 1,000-win mark in about six seasons, a rate which is easier said than done. After the state title win, he said he still has plenty of love for the game, but didn’t guarantee a return, saying he would take time to enjoy the moment and think things over.
It would take a whole lot more energy and effort to reach a mark only a handful of Texas coaches have hit. The elite attention to detail, one of the reasons his programs are so successful, would need to continue.
If you ever want a good picture of that, just look in one of North Crowley’s record books filled with program history, records and player stats.
Next to every record, Brakel leaves a spot for the North Crowley coach who led the team during the record-setting moment or season. He’s the only coach the program has ever had, so it says Tommy Brakel repeatedly down the list.
It’s as if he hopes the next leader of Panther basketball continues to update the record books for the next century, and that very well might happen. But if you look around Fort Worth-area basketball and high school hoops in general, that level of detail is far from the status quo.
Some Fort Worth-area coaches don’t have a clue about school records. With coach turnover and changes in the athletic department, it can be easy to lose track.
But Brakel takes things to another level, recording some absurd stats for both district and non-district play: Effective field goal percentage, points per shot, rebounding grade, charge percentage and more — anything and everything to help get his kids to the next level.
He’s had around 100 athletes sign athletic scholarships, and a handful have played professionally or at the high-level Division I programs. But to those who know him, his impact goes beyond the X’s and O’s of basketball.
Impact outside the game
To Hastings, what stands out about Brakel is his ability to surround himself with talented coaches and “let them do what they’re great at.”
“He knows basketball,” Hastings said. “He knows how to manage staff. He knows how to set schedules. When he sees your strength, he says, ‘Hey, I’m trusting you. I’m hiring you to take care of that for me.’ And that’s a great feeling as a coach, to know he has that kind of trust.”
North Crowley players raved about Brakel and his staff, with several saying they feel prepared and put in a position to succeed.
To someone like George Shelton, who has been a North Crowley superfan for 28 years, Brakel does more than coach basketball.
When Shelton’s son Terry moved from New Orleans, Brakel was a JV coach at Crowley. Terry Shelton had talent, but was ready to quit the game because he didn’t feel accepted.
Shelton said Brakel called and asked to take Terry to dinner. And with a bit of encouragement, Brakel convinced Terry to keep playing. He won a state title with Crowley in 1999 and went on to play at UTSA.
“Coach Brakel is a special man to me,” George Shelton said. “After that, he became like family. When my wife passed, he reached out to me. … And I’ll never, ever stop being North Crowley’s No. 1 fan. I love Coach Brakel like a son.”
Shelton has had a front row seat to Panther basketball for nearly three decades and has also had multiple kids in the program. He’s seen Brakel be tough on athletes, teaching discipline and teamwork. That’s what prepares them for the next level and creates a better future for young men, regardless of whether they continue the game.
“When you care about the kids, the parents care about you,” Shelton said. “All these young folks that I’ve seen over the years respect him because he cares about their future. It’s bigger than basketball. He cares about their life.”
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