Once Navy senior forward Donovan Draper decided midway through his plebe year to give up his future as a wide receiver on the Navy football team and shift his dedication to the men's basketball program, Navy head men's basketball coach Jon Perry sensed a team need was about to be addressed.
 
Perry, then a Navy assistant basketball coach, had watched Draper show his impressive versatility and grasp of the game at the AAU level. He had a good feeling the former two-sport star at Forest Hill High School (West Palm Beach, Fla.) had found a great fit.
 
"We saw a talented guy who could do a lot of different things on both ends of the floor," Perry said. "Donovan was the piece that fit our puzzle. He was the piece that finished the puzzle."
 
"I had full confidence in the Navy Football coaching staff and I think I would have been a really good football player at Navy, but my passion was my passion. Basketball was my first love," Draper said.
 
Navy's combination of senior producers – led by dynamic point guard and Patriot League Player of the Year Austin Benigni and dominant center and Defensive Player of the Year Aidan Kehoe – are huge reasons why the Midshipmen (25-6, 17-1) have only lost once since Thanksgiving weekend, have set a regular-season record for league victories, and are the top seed in the league tournament for the first time since 1997.
 
Then there is Draper, who, at 6-feet-6, complements those strengths well with his own toolbox of skills and toughness, which he has employed consistently for all three of his varsity seasons.
 
With his polished floor game, Draper can leave his mark on a contest in numerous ways, starting with how effectively he can guard just about anybody he covers.
 
On any night, Draper could end up battling – and succeeding against – several different positions on the opposing squad. He is equally comfortable taking a point guard out of his rhythm, shutting down a hot shooter, or tangling with the beef he encounters on the wing or in the post.
 
When Navy subs out the 6-11 Kehoe, Draper mans the middle of the "small lineup," typically in a suffocating matchup zone that Navy has used regularly and effectively to limit opposing options and keep its seven-man rotation as fresh as possible.
 
Navy, which has been ranked high in scoring defense for much of the year, currently is fifth nationally in that category, having surrendered only 63.3 points per game. Over their last 23 games, the Mids have allowed only four teams to pass the 70-point mark.
 
For the second time in three years, Draper has earned a spot on the Patriot League's All-Defensive Team.
 
"[Draper] really anchors our defense. If you're sitting near the court, you can hear him talking constantly, whether it's in live play, with the other four guys around him on the floor, or on the bench," Perry said. "He's always talking with teammates or coaches about where we need to be or how to rotate [on defense] or make adjustments. He speaks up during timeouts."  
 
Draper is a constant threat to fill up a stat sheet with points, assists and steals. And rebounds, lots of rebounds, at each end of the court.
 
He currently is grabbing 6.9 boards a game, which ranked third in the conference at the close of the regular season.
 
Consider that, over three seasons, Draper has produced 760 career rebounds (8.1 per game) to rank sixth all-time at the school. Against Patriot League foes, Draper has snagged 427 career rebounds, good for second place.
 
Draper and Kehoe are two of eight Mids to have totaled 800 points and 700 rebounds in a career.
 
In addition, Draper has led the Mids in steals for three straight seasons. He currently ranks sixth in program history (since the 1982-83 season, when steals began to be tracked) with 172 career steals. His 2.1 steals per game lead the league in 2026.
 
"I do have a knack for getting rebounds and stealing the ball, making hustle plays," Draper said. "My grandfather told me those are the things that will get you on the court, and those are the things that will keep you on the court."
 
"'Drape'" has been a huge guy for us, since the moment he first set foot on the court," said Benigni, who roomed on the road with Draper during his inaugural season.
 
When Draper kicked off his first college basketball season, nearly three years had passed since his last hoops game in high school. He attended the Naval Academy Prep School for a year (2021-22), and spent his athletics time focused mainly on football, before moving on to plebe summer and his first football season in a Navy uniform.
 
Draper met with newly-hired head coach Brian Newberry to announce his intentions, then spent the rest of the winter watching his new team practice and play conference games, while getting to know the players and the coaches and how the program operated.
 
He went on to start 23 of 31 games in the 2023-24 season and made quite the splash by recording 10 double-doubles.
 
Draper was the Mids' second-leading scorer (9.5 ppg) behind Benigni, and he led the team in rebounds (9.1) and steals (59). His 283 rebounds (56^th in the nation, 9.1 boards per game) led the conference, as did his 1.9 steals per game (41^st). His defensive play was stellar. He was named to the league's All Defensive Team for the first time.
 
"For a guy his size, Drape is one of the best rebounders in the country," said Benigni, who thinks his teammate deserved defensive POY honors that year.
 
"He's always got a way to get steals, sometimes five of them [in a game]," he added. "He can guard anyone from the one [point guard] to the four [power forward], no problem. He has really elevated our defense to another level."
 
"I've never seen something like it," team captain and senior forward Mike Woods said. "[Draper] is so relentless on the glass at both ends. A great athlete with huge hands. No wonder he was a wide receiver. In my opinion, he's the second-best rebounder in the Patriot League."
 
Tony Watson, Draper's stepfather, who played and coached Division I ball at Jacksonville University in Florida and has had a successful run coaching at the high school level in Florida, coached for seven years at Forest Hills.
 
And for four of them, he coached his stepson, who helped the basketball team win 83 games, three district titles and a regional crown. As a senior, Draper averaged 17.5 points, 10.4 rebounds and four assists and four steals.
 
Watson described a teenager mature beyond his years, with work ethic and toughness running through him. He preached to his son the value of playing without the ball and studying the game by seeing the floor clearly and paying attention to details.
 
"First of all, Donovan just had that work ethic, that desire to work hard. All of the work he has put in helped to put him on a higher level. He loves studying the game. He loves affecting the game, whether he has the ball in his hands or not," Watson said.
 
"Most kids watch a game by looking for a dunk or an awesome crossover move," he added. "[Draper] wants to know how did the guy who made the shot get open? Which way did he take the screen? What's the best angle to take to block that shot or get a rebound?"
 
Draper's senior season has involved some adversity, followed by a change in his role with the Mids. During Navy's 15^th game at Holy Cross – a 65-58 win – Draper suffered a concussion, his first ever. He went through the protocol, missing two games in the process.
 
"It was unorthodox being in concussion protocol, tough to only watch my teammates play," Draper said. "Then I started to come back, first with a 20-minute workout, then 40 minutes, then my first live practice, then coming off the bench in our game at American [Navy's last loss since November 29 against Southeast Louisiana]."
 
That night marked an unexpected trend. Even though he has continued to log starter's minutes, Draper came off the bench – within the first four minutes or so – for the last 16 games of the regular season. In Navy's rotation, he and junior guard Cam Cole have been the two-man relief the Mids have relied on since mid-January.
 
Draper, who still averages 28 minutes, has kept on keeping on. Even after a wild first half in a rout at Loyola on February 25, during which he rolled an ankle, then collided head-to-head with Greyhounds guard Braeden Speed, causing Draper to leave the game with a loose tooth and a bloody mouth.
 
Draper bounced back three days later at Alumni Hall on Senior Day with 12 points and 10 rebounds – his sixth double-double of the season – in Navy's 85-69 romp over Colgate.
 
"Me and Cam Cole have been bringing a dual spark off the bench. As long as we keep playing to our standard, why change?" he said.
 
"Coming off the bench is something new for me, but it's not something I'm not willing to do for the team's success," he added. "Being the sixth man is something I've embraced. We're firing on all cylinders. I can't complain at all. I am blessed to be out there again."