BETHLEHEM, Pa. –– Navy men's basketball head coach Ed DeChellis was named the Patriot League Coach of the Year on Tuesday when the league announced its major award winners and all-league teams for the 2020-21 season.  Joining DeChellis from Navy in earning accolades were Cam Davis (Sr., Battlefield, Mo.), who received first-team all-league honors, and Richard Njoku (Jr., Washington, D.C.), who was named to the league's all-defensive team.

The league's head coaches voted for all of the awards.  They were not allowed to vote for their own players.

Navy, the top-seeded team in the Patriot League Tournament, will play host to ninth-seeded Loyola Saturday at noon in a quarterfinal round game.  The Greyhounds were slated to play a first-round game at No. 8 Holy Cross Wednesday, but earlier today it was announced that the Crusaders will not be able to play due to a positive COVID-19 test within the program.

This is the first time DeChellis has been named coach of the year at Navy, but it is the fourth coach-of-the-year accolade –– from three conferences –– he has earned during his 25-year career as a head coach.  He first received the award in 2001 (voting by media, voting by head coaches) and 2002 (coaches) from the Southern Conference when he was at East Tennessee State.  DeChellis then was tabbed as the Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2009 (media) during his stint at Penn State.

Previous Navy Patiot League coach-of-the-year recipients have been Don DeVoe (1994, 1997 [co], 2000, Patriot League) and Billy Lange (2008, Patriot League).  Additionally, Paul Evans was named the 1985 coach of the year in the ECAC South Conference.

Navy was selected to finish in fourth place in the Patriot League this season.  As has happened more often than not during the 10 years DeChellis has been on The Yard, the Mids exceeded expectations and earned the No. 1 seed in the league tournament.  This is the sixth time in the last seven years in which Navy has improved upon its preseason prediction by at least three placings.

The Mids have compiled a 15-2 overall record, a mark that includes Navy's first victory over Georgetown since the 1976-77 season, with the team's only non-league loss coming to a Maryland team that has posted a 15-10 record.  Navy started the season with a 10-1 overall record, which was the best for the program since the 1946-47 team also tallied 10 wins in its first 11 games.  The Mids put together a 12-1 record in league play to earn the No. 1 seed outright for the first time since the 1996-97 campaign.

"I am humbled by this award," said DeChellis.  "It goes without saying I have an outstanding team of talented young men to coach.  The credit for this award goes to them, along with assistant coaches Emmett Davis, Drew Gibson, Adam Notteboom and Jon Perry, strength coach Brandon Spayd and athletic trainer Hannah Jaussen, who kept putting us back together during this COVID season.  They all did an incredible job, and I am so proud to work with them daily!  I accept this award on their behalf."

Davis is the first Mid in three seasons to earn First-Team All-Patriot League honors.  Also a second-team selection in 2020, Davis is the ninth Mid to earn multiple all-league accolades in a career.

Davis leads Navy in both points (17.1 ppg) and assists (2.7 apg), a feat he also accomplished during the 2019-20 season.  He has improved his scoring average in each of his four seasons and this year became the 25th player in Navy history to score 1,000 or more career points.  Davis currently stands 20th with 1,215 points.  This season, he has scored in double figures in all but one of his 15 games, reached 20 points in six games and scored a career-best 34 points in an overtime win over American.

This is the fifth time in the six years of the all-defensive team's existence in which a Mid has been selected to the team.  Njoku joins Will Kelly (2016), Bryce Dulin (2017, '18) and Hasan Abdullah (2019) as Mids who have been named to the five-player team.  

Njoku leads Navy with nine blocked shots this season and has recorded a personal single-season high of 14 steals.  He entered this year with 19 blocks and six steals in his 48 career games played as a freshman and sophomore.  Njoku also has scored more points this year (114) than he had in his first two years combined (83).

2020-21 Men's Basketball All-Patriot League Teams and Major Awards
Player of the Year – Jordan Burns, Colgate, Sr., G
Defensive Player of the Year – Josh Caldwell, Army West Point, Jr., G
Rookie of the Year – Johnny O'Neil, American, Fr., F
Coach of the Year – Ed DeChellis, Navy
 
First-Team All-Patriot League
Jamir Harris, American, Sr., G; Jordan Burns, Colgate, Sr., G; Justin Jaworski, Lafayette, Sr., G; Santi Aldama, Loyola Maryland, So., F; Cam Davis, Navy, Sr., G

Second-Team All-Patriot League
Lonnie Grayson, Army West Point, Sr., G; Javante McCoy, Boston University, Sr., G; Nelly Cummings, Colgate, Jr., G; Austin Butler, Holy Cross, Sr., G; E.J. Stephens, Lafayette, Sr., G

Third-Team All-Patriot League
Walter Whyte, Boston University, Jr. F; John Meeks, Bucknell, Sr., F; Tucker Richardson, Colgate, Jr., G; Gerrale Gates, Holy Cross, Jr., F; Marques Wilson, Lehigh, Sr., G
 
Patriot League All-Defensive Team
Stacy Beckton Jr., American, Sr., G; Josh Caldwell, Army West Point, Jr. G; Jonas Harper, Boston University, Jr., G; Sukhmail Mathon, Boston University, Sr., F; Richard Njoku, Navy, Jr., F
 
Patriot League All-Rookie Team
Johnny O'Neil, American, Fr., F; Jalen Rucker, Army West Point, Fr., G; Jeff Woodward, Colgate, Fr., C; R.J. Johnson, Holy Cross, Fr., G; Kyle Jenkins, Lafayette, Fr., F