Patriot poll slaps Mids to attention

Coach Ed DeChellis and his Midshipmen are using their last-place preseason Patriot League ranking as motivation. (By Matthew Cole / Baltimore Sun Media Group)Players and coaches normally don't worry about preseason rankings, chalking them up as meaningless.

However, all those involved with the Navy men's basketball team were a bit miffed about being tabbed to finish last in the Patriot League in a preseason poll of head coaches and sports information directors.

After all, Navy has progressively improved during the tenure of head coach Ed DeChellis and finished tied for sixth in the 10-team Patriot League last season. The Midshipmen improved their overall victory total for the third straight…