Navy men’s basketball head coach Ed DeChellis has announced Emmett Davis will join the Navy men’s basketball program as an assistant coach. Davis replaces Dan Earl, who was hired as VMI’s head coach last month.
“We are very excited to have Emmett join our basketball staff,” said DeChellis. “He possess great knowledge of the Patriot League and the Naval Academy, which will enable him to make an immediate impact on our program.”
Davis was the head coach at Patriot League-member Colgate for 13 seasons (1999-2011) and served as an assistant coach at Navy under both Pete Herrmann and Don DeVoe for 12 seasons (1987-98).
“I am extremely excited and thankful for the opportunity to return to the U.S. Naval Academy basketball program and work with head coach Ed DeChellis and his staff,” said Davis. “Navy basketball has a special place in my heart. It is such an honor and a privilege to recruit and coach Midshipmen student-athletes at this prestigious and tradition rich institution. The steady progress that Coach DeChellis and his staff have made over his first four seasons is impressive. I am confident that I will bring great value and experience to the program as we work toward returning Navy basketball to the NCAA Tournament.”
During his 13 years at Colgate, Davis became the school’s all-time winningest head coach with 165 career victories. He led Colgate to either the top half of the Patriot League standings or advanced the team to the semifinals or the championship game of the conference tournament in nine of his 13 seasons.
In his first year at Colgate, Davis led his team to a 14-14 record and advanced to the semifinals of the Patriot League Tournament. In his fourth year, the 2001-02 season, the Raiders posted a 17-11 record, which was the best record at Colgate since the Adonal Foyle era in 1994-95.
Colgate’s best season under Davis came during the 2007-2008 season when the Raiders advanced to the Patriot League Championship game and tied a school record for wins with 18. In that season, Davis became the school’s all-time leader for career victories when he reached his 138th win against Bucknell in the semifinals of the Patriot League Tournament.
Davis was hired at Colgate directly from his previous stint at Navy, where he was an assistant coach for 12 seasons.
Davis was involved with all aspects of the program during his tenure at Navy. He was responsible for working with the guards during his early years at Navy and worked with the post players over his final four seasons. In his 12 seasons, Navy won four conference championships and advanced to four NCAA Tournaments.
Davis is credited with recruiting several accomplished Navy basketball players during his tenure, including two of the top 10 scores in Academy history in Michael Heary (1,590 points; 6th) and Chris Williams (1,496; 9th), and five of the top 25 scorers along with Wes Cooper (23rd), Sitapha Savane (24th) and Jason Jeanpierre (25th).
In Davis’ first season at Navy, he coached National Player of the Year David Robinson. The Midshipmen registered 26 wins, a Colonial Athletic Association Championship and a trip to the NCAA tournament. Davis was also on staff at Navy for the program’s Patriot League titles in 1994, 1997 and 1998. Following the 1998 season, Davis was named the USNA Foundation Co-Coach of the Year.
The 1994, 1997 and 1998 league titles and corresponding NCAA Tournament appearances came in Davis’ last five seasons at Navy, during which he helped the Mids go 58-18 (.763) against Patriot League opponents.
Davis was also an assistant coach at Tulsa during the 2011-12 season, serving under 1987 Naval Academy graduate Doug Wojcik. Tulsa was 17-14 overall and 10-6 in Conference USA games.
Prior to his return to Navy, Davis most recently served as a college basketball television color analyst for the American Sports Network and Campus Insiders. He also helped coach his sons at Broadneck High School and worked for XOS Digital, a sports technology firm, as their Mid-Atlantic Regional Accounts Manager.
A native of Gloversville, N.Y., Davis played under former Navy and Pittsburgh head coach Paul Evans while at St. Lawrence University. He began his coaching career in 1981 at his alma mater as a student assistant coach. Davis then served as a full-time assistant coach at St. Lawrence for three years (1981-84), helping the Saints to a pair of ICAC Championships and two NCAA Division III Tournaments.
Davis’ wife, Gail, played college basketball at La Salle, where she was a four-year letterwinner and team captain her senior year. Gail was later an assistant coach at La Salle, Navy and Georgetown. She is currently the head coach of the girls basketball team and an English teacher at Broadneck High School. Emmett and Gail have three sons: Emmett (17), Shane (15) and Brendan (13).
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