The Navy men?s basketball team does not have the size or experience of most other teams in the Patriot League. But the Midshipmen have made up for that so far this season by putting individualgoals aside and working as a cohesive unit on the court. The result has been a 7-3 start, Navy?s best record over 10 games since beginning the 1998-99 campaign at 8-2.
Navy still must get through five more non-conference games, including Sunday?s home contest against Delaware Valley, before opening its league schedule Jan. 6 at defending conference champion Bucknell. Navy coach Billy Lange feels his team is in a better position to compete in the league this year compared to last season.
“Guys are starting to buy into what we?ve been preaching since coming to Navy in 2004,” Lange said. “They know the only way we can win is to buy into a team concept. On offense, we need the right players to take the right shots, and on defense, we need to have guys keep players out of the paint.”
Navy?s biggest improvement this year has come on defense, where the team is allowing 66.1 points per game compared to 71.3 last season. But Lange said there is still work to be done defensively, especially after the Midshipmen allowed a season-high in points Dec. 7 in their 79-58 loss to Penn.
Offensively, Navy?s biggest contributions have come from guards Greg Sprink and Kaleo Kina. Sprink, a junior, is averaging 16.3 points and 4.6 rebounds. Kaleo, a sophomore, is averaging 11.4 points while making more than 45 percent of his three-point attempts.
Lange said many of their points can be attributed to the improved play of junior guard Corey Johnson, who has played in all 10 games this season after missing nine games last year due to injuries. He is currently averaging 8.2 points, 3.2 assists and 2.1 steals a game.
“Corey has made a lot of scoring opportunities for Greg and Kaleo possible,” Lange said. “He has come into this season with a great attitude, and he?s learned it?s more important to play team basketball over all-conference basketball.”
NAVY NOTES
» Despite losing to Penn,Navy has fared well against non-conference foes, having won 14 of its last 19 games outside the Patriot League.
» With six freshmen and just one senior on the roster, Navy has the youngest team among the eight Patriot League teams.
