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By Ron P. Coderre
While most prep schools are out on the gridiron on Saturday afternoons with their focus on football, the Putnam Science Academy gym has been a hot bed of basketball activity lately. According to Mustangs coach Tom Espinosa a steady stream of college coaches have come knocking on the Maple Street door of the school this fall.
The 2013 edition of PSA basketball promises to be exciting with seven highly sought after recruits enrolled, a pair of returning Turkish players anxious to prove they belong on the team and a couple of unexpected students with quality hoop skills who arrived recently.
The early interest of college coaches however, has centered initially on five of the Mustang recruits, Chaise Daniels, Jalen Terry, Danny Upchurch, Anthony Durham and Jordan Butler.
Daniels, a 6’8” power forward from Hillhouse High School is being recruited by eight well known Division I schools. The ‘chase for Chaise’ includes the University of Massachusetts, Drexel University, Fairfield, Norfolk State, Quinnipiac University, Marshall, UNC-Greensboro and Duquesne University. Noted coaches such as Derek Kellogg of UMass, Tom Moore of Quinnipiac and Tom Herrion of Marshall have been spotted on the PSA campus of late in the hunt for Daniels.
Terry, the young man who travelled to Putnam all the way from Anchorage, Alaska has been working out for the likes of Holy Cross College in Worcester and Tennessee Tech. The 6’6” front court performer who hails from Seaward, Alaska played at Anchorage Christian School last year.
Upchurch a 5’10’ guard is being sought after by some of the area’s top Division II schools, primarily from the highly competitive Northeast-10 Conference. Among his suitors are Pace University, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven and American International College. Last season Upchurch starred at Notre Dame-Fairfield.
The University of New Haven is also pursuing 6’3” swingman Anthony Durham, who last season played at Abington Senior High School in Roslyn, Pennsylvania.
Butler a rugged 6’7” forward from Hartford, who played at Glastonbury High School last season, is being closely looked at by a trio of Mid-Major universities.
He has interest from Norfolk State University, Sacred Heart University and the University of Maine. Coach Ted Woodward of the Maine Black Bears appears to like the talent he sees in Northeastern Connecticut Prep Schools. Former Putnam Science Academy product Shaun Lawton is a sophomore on this year’s Maine team, as is incoming 6’9” Christian Ejiga who graduated from Hyde-Woodstock in May.
“It’s exciting to see all the interest our players are drawing. The quality of play in all the Northeastern Connecticut prep schools says a great deal for area basketball. I’m so pleased that these kids are getting an opportunity to play and study at noted colleges,” said Coach Espinosa.
The official start of the prep school basketball season is early November.