Zach Fong played in 29 of 30 games and averaged almost 17 minutes as a freshman with the Navy men’s basketball team. As a senior, Fong has seen his playing time dwindle to just under eight minutes and there are have been nine games that he didn’t even get into.
“My first few seasons were pretty successful for me. This season has been a different role, but I’ve embraced it and it’s still been a fun time,” Fong said.
It’s a similar scenario for Grant Vermeer, who played in 22 games with one start as a plebe and has appeared in just seven contests as a senior.
“Obviously, roles have changed over four years, but along the way I’ve learned some great life lessons. I wouldn’t trade the experience I’ve had here at the academy for anything,” Vermeer said.
That selfless attitude expressed by Fong and Vermeer is why the current senior class will always hold a special place in the heart of head coach Ed DeChellis. The Class of 2017, which also includes Edward Alade, Tim Abruzzo and James Hemphill, has helped change the fortunes of Navy men’s basketball.
“It has been a very good class on a lot of levels. Individually, they’ve each had great moments basketball-wise. Collectively, they just have a great fiber to them,” DeChellis said. “They’ve all been outstanding academically, they’ve been leaders on campus, they haven’t gotten into any trouble in the hall. I am very proud of this group of seniors. They have set a really high standard.”
Navy suffered through a dismal 9-21 campaign in 2013-2014 and the overall lack of talent is why DeChellis chose to give so many of the freshmen a shot. Abruzzo remembers being thrust into the rotation toward the end of his rookie season and averaging 13 minutes over the final 13 games.
“The reason I played my freshman year was because the team wasn’t really that good and the coaching staff was searching for answers,” Abruzzo admitted. “Every one of the seniors has played an important role at different stages of the program. We all feel like we had a big part in the development of the program at one time period or another.”
Navy has increased its victory total, both overall and in the Patriot League, every season during the DeChellis era. A year ago, the Midshipmen posted their first winning record since 2008-2009. This year, Navy (15-13, 10-6) finds itself in the thick of the Patriot League race.
“I think our senior class takes a ton of pride in changing the culture of Navy basketball into a winning one – just by demanding that everyone give everything they have to this team and to each other,” Vermeer said. “It’s been very rewarding to see the program’s development and knowing we played a big part in it.”
Navy has significantly improved its overall talent level over the past four years, which is why several of the seniors have seen their roles reduced this season. DeChellis cites the strong leadership of the seniors for the Midshipmen’s success this season.
“Every one of those seniors is a great competitor in practice. They show the way for the younger guys by coming early and staying late, by always giving great effort,” DeChellis said. “Our seniors provide a tremendous example for how a Navy basketball player should conduct himself.”
Abruzzo and Alade were actually members of the first recruiting class brought in by DeChellis, who took over as head coach in May, 2011. Both attended the Naval Academy Prep School before arriving in Annapolis and joining with direct-entry recruits Fong, Hemphill and Vermeer.
Alade acknowledges he did not truly understand the magnitude of attending a service academy as a senior at Kempner High in Houston, Texas
“At the beginning I didn’t see the big picture like I do now. It was a leap of faith. I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into,” Alade said. “Now, looking back at the last five years, I’ve grown up so much and learned so many lessons and made a bunch of lifelong friends. I’m so glad to get this opportunity and I’ve tried to make the most out of it.”
Alade was extremely raw as a plebe and has improved his basketball skills each year. The 6-foot-9, 235-pounder has played in 116 games with 38 starts over the course of his career.
“It’s been a learning process. I feel more comfortable on the court and with what I need to contribute to the team. I’m much more focused and I’ve developed a lot physically,” said Alade, who is averaging 4.6 points and 3.4 rebounds this season.
Abruzzo described Alade as friendly and outgoing with a great sense of humor.
“Ed is probably the funniest and most popular person in the City of Annapolis. If you walk around Bancroft with Ed, everyone knows him,” Abruzzo said of his best friend.
Alade called Abruzzo a “real hustler” who will dive on the floor for loose balls and battle bigger opponents for rebounds. The 6-foot-5, 185-pound shooting guard graduated Pennridge High in Pennsylvania as the all-time leading scorer. He sat out the entire 2014-2015 season after undergoing knee surgery, but came back to play in 30 games and average 6.6, 3.3 rebounds and team-best 1.2 steals as a junior.
“It means a lot that we’re contending for a Patriot League championship this year. We’ve come a long way and I think we’ve earned the respect of the other schools in the league,” Abruzzo said.
Abruzzo and Alade plan to live together in the Norfolk area while serving as surface warfare officers on the USS Arlington and USS Oak Hill, respectively.
Fong came from Gar-Field High in northern Virginia with a reputation as an accurate perimeter shooter. That ability to put the ball in the basket from long range is why the Woodbrige resident saw so much early in his career. The 6-foot, 195-pounder launched 296 shots as a freshman and sophomore and 80 percent of them were 3-pointers.
Fong set a Navy freshman record by draining seven 3-pointers against Bryant and drained five from beyond the arc in scoring a career-high 24 points against Army as a sophomore.
“Zach is a very good 3-point shooter and there have been times when he got hot and carried us for stretches of games,” DeChellis said.
Fong now finds himself a little lower on the depth chart at wing guard, playing behind starter Bryce Dulin and Abruzzo. The political science major will head to Pensacola in September to begin training to become a Naval flight officer.
“These four years have definitely gone by very fast. You always hear from previous seniors to enjoy your time here because it goes by very quick, and I’m just now realizing that is true,” Fong said. “When this class came in, the program was struggling. Navy basketball has progressed a lot over the last four years. As a group, we’ve been dedicated to turning around this program.”
Hemphill hails from Raleigh, North Carolina and helped lead Broughton High to the Class 4A state championship game as a senior. The 6-foot-7, 220-pound power forward made five starts as a sophomore and has appeared in 72 games overall.
“James is a tough, physical kid who can rebound the basketball and score around the basket,” DeChellis said.
Alade described Hemphill as an extremely nice, sincere individual and stated that “everything he says and does comes from the heart.” Nobody involved with Navy basketball was surprised when Hemphill selected Marine Corps Ground as a service assignment.
“This group of seniors has been through so much together. We’ve all had our ups and downs and grown so much as both basketball players and midshipmen,” said Hemphill, who will report to Quantico, Virginia in October to begin The Basic School. “We’ve seen how things are supposed to be done and what a senior is supposed to be as far as leadership.”
Vermeer, a product of Bellarmine Prep in Mountain View, California, has excelled in all facets of the Naval Academy. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound guard has been named to the Commandant’s List seven times and served as Regimental Commander for 2016 plebe summer.
That is the highest leadership position within the Brigade of Midshipmen at the time and Fong filled a key role for his teammate by working as a detailer.
“Grant will probably tell you he wants to get out of the Navy after five years and move on with becoming the president of the United States, but I know once he starts moving up in rank he’ll be the superintendent of this place before too long,” Abruzzo said.
Vermeer majored in cyber operations and is one of only six members of the 2017 graduating class chosen to serve in the cryptological warfare community. He will be stationed at Navy Intelligence Operations Command, which is located on base at Fort Meade and works in tandem with the National Security Agency.
“It’s definitely crazy that basketball is coming to an end. It’s been an unbelievable experience and I’ve grown so much as a player and a person,” said Vermeer, a fixture on the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll. “I’ve enjoyed every aspect of being part of this program and am extremely grateful for the opportunity.”
Vermeer has become the leader of the scout team, which must prepare the regulars for the upcoming opponent. He takes great pride in making sure the scout team does its job.
“My role more than anything is to bring energy and make sure guys are always ready to go.
That means providing the best representation of the opposing team that we can, watching film so we are spot-on about the tendencies of the player we are mimicking and going as hard as you can all the time,” Vermeer said. “I do everything I can every day to make Shawn Anderson a better player so he’s prepared for the next game.”
Alade is the only starter among the seniors, but DeChellis said he will put all five on the court to start the American game on Wednesday night. The sixth-year head coach believes players that have dedicated four years to a program have earned that right.
“I have done that my whole career,” DeChellis said of starting the seniors. “This is their moment. They deserve to hear their names announced as a starter one last time at Alumni Hall. I am confident they will all go out and give great effort.”
It will mark the first time in four years the five classmates have all started the same game.
“We’re a really close-knit class so it means a lot that we’ll all be starting together on Senior Night,” Abruzzo said. “It will be cool for all five of us to be on the court together because I don’t think that’s ever happened before. It will be great to have all our families here to share that moment with us.”
