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Putnam Science Academy's Devin Hill. Photo by Vaso Brodeur.
Devin Hill wanted to come back to coach the Putnam Science Academy girls’ prep basketball team regardless. But the Mustangs’ one-point loss in the national semifinals in late February really cemented it for him.
“Honestly there’s so much left to accomplish,” said Hill, who recently had the interim tag taken off his title and was named the full-time coach. “I guess unfinished business is the best way to say it. To me, this is just the beginning as far as what we can do as a program.
“I feel like this should be, in a few years, known as the best girls’ basketball program in the country. I think there’s another couple levels it could go. Honestly. I say that not because of me, but because when you have a strong organization and people who really back you, now you just have to put the work in. And I am going to put the work in.”
Hill took over at midseason when Amanda Morales resigned from the head job. PSA closed out the regular season with four wins in seven games, then won a pair at the national tournament before coming up just short in the Final Four (the Mustangs won the third-place game as well).
“I definitely like playing with him,” said PSA’s Aaliyah Brittian, a member of the Class of 2021. “He’s a good coach who did a real good job getting thrown into the situation he did. He added discipline and structure for us when we really needed it. I respect him for that.”
Hill, who will also teach at the school beginning in the fall, noted the support from Athletic Director Tom Espinosa and school Headmaster Kevin Wells was a breath of fresh air.
“We’re very excited to have Devin come on as the full-time coach,” Espinosa said. “He came into a tough situation and he kept things together with the girls and he really got them going in the right direction. Now he’ll have a full season, with the full preseason, as the head coach. He’s got a vision for the program and we’re excited to see where he can take it.”
Four players from the Final Four team have eligibility remaining to play next year – Brittian, Brittney Etuka, Sabou Gueye, and Damoni Tucker. Hill is also working the phones and making recruitment pitches.
“There’s a lot of things in flux right now with what’s going on,” he said. “But if it goes way it could go…I don’t want to say too much because you never know and I don’t want to jinx anything, but I think it’s looking good.
“I think it’s looking like another step up from last year. I’ll put it that way. And last year was pretty good, so that’s saying a lot. But I’m really confident with the girls I’m talking to now looking like they might be coming.”
The nationwide shutdowns in response to the coronavirus pandemic can actually affect PSA’s roster next season in a positive way. With high school seasons cut short – and recruiting shut down as well – there are a lot of high school seniors looking for somewhere to play next year.
“It’s been a tough situation,” Hill said, “but I think there’s a lot worse things you can do than do a postgrad year, especially at Putnam Science Academy. It worked out well for Delaney (Haines) last year, I think it could work out for a lot of other girls as well in that situation. As far as 2020 girls who may not have gotten what they could have, should have gotten because of all of this…I’ve certainly been reaching out to them as well about getting another opportunity as a postgrad.”
Haines missed most of her senior season in Maine due to an injury, then re-established herself at PSA as a formidable shooting threat during her postgrad season, and earned a scholarship at New York Institute of Technology.
Niya Fields, a senior on this year’s team, has known Hill for a while from the AAU circuit. She loved playing for him, and not just because of basketball.
“He’s very involved with his players,” she said. “He’s always making sure school is good and he’s having meetings to see where your head is at. He cares. He really wants the best for his players and that is really all you could ask for as a player.”
By Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy
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