Navy men’s basketball opens Patriot League play with two home games this week

Navy men’s basketball coach Ed DeChellis loves this time of the year. With the Naval Academy is on holiday break, the staff and players can focus solely on basketball.

After Navy dropped a road game at Youngstown State on Dec. 21, the players were given time off to go home and spend Christmas with their families. They returned to the academy the day after Christmas and will have two weeks without worrying about academic and military commitments.

“We’re practicing every day and trying to spend as much time with our players as we possibly can,” said DeChellis, who incorporated some team-building activities into the daily schedule. There was a team dinner at Maggiano’s and a night of competitive bowling.

The Midshipmen closed out the nonconference portion of the schedule with arguably their most impressive performance to date. Sophomore point guard Austin Benigni scored a career-high 28 points and dished off five assists as Navy beat William & Mary, 77-65, Saturday at Alumni Hall.

“Beating William & Mary was important because that is a very talented team,” DeChellis siad. “As a coach, I’m optimistic about what we can do and where we’re headed.”

Navy begins Patriot League play this week with a pair of home games against Boston University on Wednesday night and two-time defending champion Colgate Saturday afternoon. The Midshipmen can put all their energy and effort into preparing for those contests since classes at the academy don’t resume until next Tuesday.

Navy is 4-7 so far, with all four wins coming at home. There were a couple close calls on the road, losing to George Washington in overtime and falling to Quinnipiac by three.

DeChellis knew the first two months of the season would be about development because Navy only had two returning players — Benigni and senior combination guard Austin Inge — who saw significant action during the 2021-22 campaign.

“I think we made great progress through the nonconference season and I think the greatest growth has been confidence,” DeChellis said. “We got a bunch of younger guys a lot of quality experience. Guys are more comfortable with each other on the court.”

Throughout his 13-year tenure at Navy, DeChellis has made three things a priority: defending, rebounding and taking care of the ball. He’s been pleased with the Midshipmen’s performance in those areas so far.

Navy is holding opponents to 63.3 points per game and forcing an average of 15.5 turnovers. Opponents are shooting 40% from the field and 25% from 3-point range against the Mids.

“I think defensively we’ve been very good. Our kids have finally understood and bought into what we’re trying to do on defense,” DeChellis said.

Meanwhile, the offense remains a work in progress as Navy is averaging 68.2 points and shooting 40% from the field and 27% from beyond the arc. Benigni leads the team in scoring with 13.5 points per game, while sophomore forward Donovan Draper (10.6) is the only other player averaging in double figures.

“We’re not a great shooting team right now. I think we have guys that can make baskets, but the problem has been consistency,” DeChellis said. “We’ve got some guys who shoot the ball really well in practice and it hasn’t transferred [to games].”

Junior guards Mac MacDonald and Lysander Rehnstrom both shoot the lights out from the perimeter during practice. Those two are averaging 5.6 and 4.6 points, respectively. McDonald is shooting 32% from the field and 25% from 3-point range on 68 attempts, while Rehnstrom has only taken 25 shots. Junior swingman Kam Summers is shooting 50% from beyond the arc, but has only attempted 28 3s.

DeChellis said the coaching staff needs to find ways to create higher percentage field goal attempts for all players. Since the Mids struggle in the half-court offense, finding ways to create more transition opportunities is a priority.

Navy is getting 15.6 points per game off turnovers and DeChellis feels that figure could be higher. He noted the Mids rank 34th nationally in turnovers caused.

“We have to find a way to convert those turnovers into points,” DeChellis said. “We’re going to try to press a little more to turn people over and get easier shots. If we can get to 72 or 74 points per game, that would make life a lot easier.”

Benigni and Draper have been Navy’s best players to date. In addition to leading the Mids in scoring, Benigni is averaging 3.7 assists and 3.4 rebounds. The Texas native, though undersized, has become the offensive catalyst and unquestioned floor leader.

“There is not a drill we can do as coaches that can manufacture somebody’s competitive spirit, somebody’s heart and somebody’s toughness. [Benigni]  brings all the intangibles to the table,” DeChellis said. “I think Austin gives other guys confidence and courage because he’s such a fiery guy. Sometimes he goes too fast and makes mistakes, but I have to live with that because the good outweighs the bad.”

Draper, who spent his plebe year as a member of the varsity football team and hasn’t played basketball since high school, has been proved a huge addition and pleasant surprise. The 6-foot-5, 203-pounder has posted a double-double in four of the last six games and leads Navy in rebounding (9.0 per game) and steals (26).

“Donovan is a freshman basketball-wise. He’s still learning all the nuances of the game,” DeChellis said. “You can’t teach instincts and his instincts are very good.  He’s a tremendous rebounder because he’s a strong, powerful kid. He has the ability to get his hands on balls to get steals and cause deflections.”

DeChellis said Draper still needs to work on his offensive skills such as passing, dribbling and shooting and said he’ll get better and better as the season goes along.

Navy has lost two members of the rotation due to injuries with wing guard Jinwoo Kim (knee) and point guard Carnegie Johnson (hand) both out indefinitely. DeChellis said the Midshipmen need more consistency out of the reserves.

“I’ve got to get some other guys playing well off the bench. We need some more help, some more firepower,” he said. “We’re trying a lot of different combinations in practice to see who plays well together.”

Navy was predicted to finish in a tie for seventh place in the 10-team Patriot League. Under DeChellis, the Midshipmen have almost always exceeded their ranking in the preseason poll.

“I think there is a lot of  parity in the league. No team is head and shoulders above the rest. I think anybody can beat anybody,” DeChellis said.