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College basketball programs grapple with playing amid coronavirus pandemic: ‘We’ve got to be realistic’

As the coach of the Navy men’s basketball program, Ed DeChellis is thrilled there is a season this winter after the 2019-20 campaign was halted early by the coronavirus pandemic. He looks forward daily to working and interacting with his players and assistant coaches.

DeChellis — a 62-year-old husband, father of three daughters and grandfather of two — survived a stroke in early October and also learned that he is diabetic. So the risk of exposure in the midst of COVID-19 outbreaks throughout the country has dogged him relentlessly.

“It’s always on my mind,” he said. “We get tested quite often, but it’s not good for me and it’s not good for anybody to contract this thing.