It’s become an annual tradition for Navy men’s basketball to be picked at or near the bottom of the Patriot League in the preseason poll of coaches and sports information contacts.
It’s also become an annual tradition for the Midshipmen to outperform those prognostications. Throughout the tenure of coach Ed DeChellis, Navy has almost always finished higher in the conference standings than was predicted.
DeChellis, entering his 14th season at the helm, readily admits the annual display of disrespect provides a ready-made motivational tactic. DeChellis can tell his troops that once again the other programs in the league don’t think Navy is going to be any good.
“It always seems like it’s a lot lower level prediction than I think we would get,” DeChellis acknowledged last week. “Our coaching staff thinks this team can be pretty good. Our players think we’re going to be pretty good. I think we’re going to be right in the thick of [the conference race] and I’ll be disappointed if we’re not.”
This season, Navy is picked eighth out of 10 teams in the Patriot League despite having three returning starters and another eight players that were an important part of the rotation at some point last season.
The Midshipmen will be led once again by energetic point guard Austin Benigni and active forward Donovan Draper, a pair of juniors that earned All-Patriot League honors last season.
Benigni was a second team all-conference selection after leading Navy in scoring with 17 points per game and ranking fourth in the Patriot League with 119 assists. The 5-foot-10, 171-pound Texas native is known for his hard-charging style and innate desire to relentlessly drive to the basket.
DeChellis has repeatedly praised Benigni for his ability to create for himself and others. He called the feisty floor general’s penchant for attacking the rim and drawing fouls “a big part of our offense.”
Last season, Benigni attempted 209 free throws and made 177 (.847%). That was 55 more attempts and 66 more made free throws than any other player in the Patriot League.
DeChellis said Benigni is significantly stronger than last season, has developed as a perimeter shooter and has improved his offensive pace.
“I think Austin reads defenses better and is more efficient coming off ball screens. He’s stronger and that’s important because he drives and creates contact, so you have to be able to give a blow and take a blow,” DeChellis said. “Austin worked really hard on shooting the ball and has improved his 3-point and mid-range game tremendously.”
Benigni wants to drive downhill on almost every possession, but DeChellis has encouraged him to run the offense more methodically at times in order to get other involved.
“Austin’s aggression is good at times, but at other times you have to let the game come to you and pick your spots. You can’t take the game on all the time,” DeChellis said.
Draper joined the basketball team last season after playing football as a freshman at the academy and spent most of the season reacclimating to the court. The long-armed 6-foot-4, 207-pound leaper almost averaged a double-double with 9.5 points and 9.1 rebounds.
Draper was named to the Patriot League All-Defensive team after leading Navy with 59 steals and 21 blocks.
“Draper is an unbelievable rebounder and has a nose for the basketball. He is a tremendous offensive rebounder who just flies in there with reckless abandon,” DeChellis said. “Defensively, he gets his hands on a lot of balls, gets a lot of steals and deflections.”
DeChellis noted many times last season that Draper was the equivalent of a freshman in terms of college basketball experience and was far from reaching his full potential. Having a full offseason to work on skills development was huge for Draper with the coaching staff concentrating on passing, catching, dribbling and shooting.
“Donovan has come a long way in terms of ball skills. He’s getting better at dribbling with the left hand, finishing with the left hand, making free throws,” DeChellis said. “He is also shooting the basketball much better from the perimeter. He’s improved his footwork and form.”
DeChellis said Draper still needs to learn how to consistently play at a high level in terms of energy, focus and intensity.
Senior forward Mitch Fisher, the third returning starter, must provide more production after averaging 5.6 points and 2.9 rebounds a year ago. The rugged 6-foot-7, 222-pound Loyola Blakefield productscored a career-high 26 points on 9-for-13 field goal shooting against Lehigh.
“Mitch Fisher will score much more than he did last season. I’m hoping he’ll be a double digit guy,” DeChellis said. “He’s really worked on his shot. He can pick and pop and drive the ball against bigger five men.”
However, Fisher lost his spot in the lineup at the pivot position to Aidan Kehoe, who displayed dramatic improvement toward the end of the season. The 6-foot-10, 246-pound junior totaled 47 of his 63 points, 47 of 76 rebounds, 14 of 17 assists and 10 of 16 blocks in the last six games of the season.
Navy is loaded with capable wing players with DeChellis having to determine how to divide time among the likes of captain Lysander Rehnstrom, fellow senior Kam Summers, junior Mike Woods and sophomore Jinwoo Kim among others.
Woods was the most productive of that bunch last season, playing in all 31 games with eight starts and averaging 5.9 points and 4.0 rebounds, while also totaling 38 assists in 24 steals. DeChellis said Woods, whose strength is driving the basketball, has greatly improved his 3-point shooting.
“Teams have tended to lay off Mike because he had not shown he could knock down threes. Hopefully, they won’t be able to do that anymore,” DeChellis said.
Rehnstrom led the team in 3-point field goal percentage (.385) and was second on the squad in 3-pointers made (37). Summers scored in double figures in three straight games in December, but fell out of favor and saw his playing time dwindle during Patriot League play.
Kim became just the fourth freshman during the DeChellis era to start the opener, but suffered a season-ending knee injury in the fifth game. The Kansas native is a well-rounded player who has impressed in preseason practice.
“Kim can make threes or drive the ball and get to the free throw line. He’s a very active and athletic young guy who can do a lot of things,” DeChellis said.
Additionally, Navy has a couple of combination guards in sophomores Carnegie Johnson and Cam Cole. DeChellis said Johnson was slated to see significant action as the backup point guard before suffering a broken hand that forced him to miss six weeks and spoiled his plebe campaign.
“We’ve got a lot of returning players with some experience. Our roster is deep enough to give us plenty of options. It’s not always the five best players; It’s the five best players that work well together,” DeChellis said.
“As the season evolves you continue to fine-tune and tinker. You see what’s working for you and try to put your best team on the floor. As I tell the team all the time: Everyone’s status on the team is the same, but your roles are different. Those roles change throughout the season,” DeChellis added.
Navy has seven freshmen on the roster, but with so many returning lettermen there may not be many openings for them to get playing time. DeChellis said forward Cooper Jackson (6-5, 228) and guard David Burnett (6-3, 200) both showing flashes during preseason camp.
Navy opens the season Monday night in Philadelphia against St. Joseph’s and coach Billy Lange, who preceded DeChellis in Annapolis. Of course, DeChellis is excited about the home opener on Friday night versus Harvard in the nightcap of the Veterans Classic at Alumni Hall.
DeChellis got to know Amaker well when both were coaching in the Big Ten Conference at Penn State and Michigan, respectively.
“Tommy has done a great job at Harvard, which is always one of the top teams in the Ivy League,” DeChellis said.