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Ed DeChellis leaves Penn State for.......Navy?

  • dokken
    Maybe he is just sick of the whole thug stuff that goes on in college basketball and figured Navy would be a place to get away from that.
  • Con_Alma
    From yesterday's Washington Post.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/ed-dechellis-adjusts-to-a-new-routine-with-navy-basketball/2011/07/01/gHQAfs5mzH_story.html

    "Shortly after Ed DeChellis arrived in Annapolis to assume the role of men’s basketball coach at Navy, it was time to meet his new players. Only a handful of team members attended the intrductory session, however. All of the others were on a ship.

    Such circumstances never were a consideration for DeChellis at Penn State, or either of his previous stops for that matter, so arranging basketball matters around the players’ military obligations has been the most conspicuous modification to his coaching routine. Senior guard Jordan Sugars, for instance, recalled having to enlighten DeChellis on why teammate J.J. Avila was unable to attend a meeting because he had watch duty.

    “I think for me the challenge that I’ve had to learn here somewhat is the players aren’t as available as they are at a Penn State,” said DeChellis, who was named coach at Navy two weeks after Billy Lange resigned on May 9 to become a top assistant at Villanova. “There, kids are balancing academics, and then you’ve got them basketball-wise. Here I’ve got the military, the academics, the military and then trying to get our quality basketball work in.”

    At Penn State, DeChellis would have his players in the weight room at 6:30 a.m., and then they would attend breakfast at their leisure with practice in the afternoon. At Navy, students have reveille at 6:30, morning meal formation at 7 and breakfast promptly at 7:10. Breakfast lasts 45 minutes, at which time Midshipmen attend classes for four consecutive hours.

    Noon meal formation is at 12:05, and lunch is at quarter past the hour. Company training comes after lunch followed by fifth- and sixth-period classes. Finally, there is time allotted for athletics from 3:30 to 6 p.m.

    “It’s a lot to throw at you at once,” Sugars said. “We’ve been telling him the ins and outs. It’s kind of funny because it’s something that we’re used to, but at the same time you’ve got to remember [a new] coach doesn’t know this, so we’ve got to explain.”..."
  • Con_Alma
    dokken;827022 wrote:Maybe he is just sick of the whole thug stuff that goes on in college basketball and figured Navy would be a place to get away from that.


    This is a good article on why from yesterday's Washington Times.

    http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jul/4/dechellis-conference-call/?page=all#pagebreak


    "...Then, ever the renaissance man, he’d tell DeChellis, “That’s one of the special places to coach.” “When the opportunity presented itself, that popped into my mind,” DeChellis said. “Skip always said it was a great place, [so] let me go and have lunch and meet and talk and see where this thing goes. When I came here, it was ‘Whoa, now I know. Now I know what he was talking about.’ “ ..." referring to Navy.

    "...“Navy really wanted him. You add the fact it is such a special place, not just to live but also the academy. It didn’t really surprise me.” ..."

    Unless you've been there and walked the yard and seen the culture, there's no way to explain what they mean by "special".