Ardrey Kell basketball coach Mike Craft savors final season coaching son Matthew
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- Veteran coach Mike Craft savors final season coaching son Matthew.
- Matthew Craft averages 9.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists for Knights.
- Team heads into one‑and‑done playoffs amid Senior Night emotions.
Mike Craft, who has become one of the best high school basketball coaches in Mecklenburg County history, grew up the son of a coach.
So he said he kind of knew what to expect when his son, Matthew, was coming to play for him at Ardrey Kell High School in south Charlotte.
“I knew there would be doubters,” Craft said. “I knew there would be people who would say things, and you have to go out and prove it pretty much every time. So I knew I didn’t want there to be too much pressure on him.”
But the pressure was kind of unavoidable.
Craft has coached in two state championship games and won 355 games in 20 years at Ardrey Kell. Before that, he coached in college at Western Carolina and Davidson for 16 years, and was part of the Wildcats’ staff that recruited Stephen Curry, the NBA’s all-time leading 3-point shooter .
“What I’ve tried to do, all through their AAU, through travel baseball with (my older son) Michael,” Craft said, “is just let them have fun, you know? I would say, ‘Have fun. Do your best. Be a good sport.’”
Michael Craft broke his dad’s heart, just a little bit, when he only briefly played high school basketball as a freshman on the junior varsity at Ardrey Kell. Michael realized his dream was baseball in college, and he never played basketball for his dad.
Now, 20, Michael is redshirt freshman at NCAA Division II Wingate University in Union County.
But 18-year-old Matthew? He embraced basketball. He played on the JV as a freshman, and he’s been on varsity ever since.
“It’s been a blast,” Matthew said. “I think my dad is tough, but he’s fair, and I couldn’t imagine playing for anyone else.”
The inside view
Knights’ junior shooting guard Ethan Gramaglia is one of Matthew ’s best friends.
They grew up together, and Gramaglia understands the coach-player and father-son dynamic between the Crafts about as well as anyone.
“Coach is pretty hard on Matthew in practice,” Gramaglia said, “yelling at him a lot, making sure he’s doing the right thing. I think he doesn’t want people thinking he’s playing favorites. But he doesn’t. Matthew’s a great player, a great teammate, but man, he earns it.”
This season, Matthew is fourth on the team in scoring (9.2 points per game), second in rebounding (3.6) and second in assists (3.4). The Knights (19-6) opened Southwestern 7A/8A conference play Tuesday night against Rocky River, winning 73-47.
Matthew said he’s enjoyed every moment wearing the Knights’ white and purple.
“It’s great. It’s a blessing,” he said, “especially with the success we’re having this year. It’s just so much fun.”
In his first two seasons on varsity, Ardrey Kell was 38-17, a constant threat for a deep playoff run. But this season, the Knights didn’t return many key players from those teams, and Matthew knew he would be playing a much bigger role.
“I was worried this year,” Matthew said. “Like, I don’t want to let (my dad) down. I don’t want us to just be alright. I knew we weren’t going to be bad, but I didn’t want us to be mediocre or anything — and to do what we’re doing is such a blessing.”
Growing up AK
As it’s turned out, the Knights are having another good season, one that included a 13-game win streak and an unbeaten month of December.
And coaching Matthew, through it all, Craft said he basically had one rule.
“I tried to make him earn everything,” Craft said, “just like I do everybody else.”
Craft gets emotional talking about the journey to get to here, mainly because he knows how quickly it could end.
Ardrey Kell will start the one-and-done playoffs next week.
Any game could be the last.
“I remember he was water boy, he was in the locker room,” Craft said. “He and Michael (the older son) both grew up around the program. It was really neat.”
The end is near, and everybody knows it
Craft always had in his mind that he would one day coach his kids with the Knights, even when took the job in the spring of 2006.
“I knew I really liked it here,” he said. “We’ve got a great administration. We’ve had great (athletic directors). I knew I loved the area. College coaching is such a demanding profession and you’re never home. So I’ve watched these boys grow up. I’ve been to all their games.”
Craft pauses and his eyes go skyward. Some small tears form. You can almost see the memories dancing in his head.
He looks down, and starts talking about how he and his wife, Crystal, arranged for the kids to go to elementary school close to Ardrey Kell so Craft could pick them up before practice. Crystal Craft travels a lot for work.
He said he remembers his boys running around the gym at practices, and how Matthew, every day, would go into his desk drawer and pull out change to get a honey bun out of a school vending machine.
“They grew up here,” Craft said of his boys, getting a little emotional again. “It’s really neat to see Matthew be where he is now. We beat Charlotte Catholic earlier this season and he called three plays. He said, ‘Dad, let’s run this.’ And they all three worked. One on them, we just pointed at each other. Probably nobody saw that, but it was a really special moment.”
Matthew has decided that high school will be the end of his sports journey. He’s looking to attend UNC-Wilmington or N.C. State.
So Senior Night was extra special for the Crafts; this week’s conference tournament is special for the Crafts; and every single game and every single quarter they get from now to the end of the season will be special, too.
It’s the last time they will do this together, and the father and son, coach and player, say it’s a time they’ll forever cherish.
“I’ve never, ever cried on senior night,” Craft said. “I’ve been sad, but I’m happy for these kids, that they’ve made it. Most of our kids come through here four years, and (Michael) will definitely be that way, but when I saw he and him mom coming out, there was a tear. I tried to hide it. I had myself composed a little bit.”
Matthew said he’s spent the season trying to figure out how he’ll handle that last game with his dad
“I’m going to be an emotional wreck,” he said, “but I’ll be grateful for everything that’s happened the past four years, though.”
This story was originally published February 18, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Ardrey Kell basketball coach Mike Craft savors final season coaching son Matthew."
