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PSA prep basketball player Trent Coleman took a look at the track record and liked what he saw.
He saw that over the past four years, Southwest Mississippi Community College coach Bryan Bender has coached or signed 30 players who have gone on to sign with Division I schools.
“And a lot of them have been long wings like me,” the 6-foot, 7-inch Coleman said April 15, a few hours after announcing his commitment to play for the Bears next season. “I felt real comfortable with that and I really see myself and my playing style fitting in well there.”
Coleman, a native of Ridgeland, Miss., averaged 3.4 points and 1.8 rebounds per game this year as the Mustangs went 18-3. He saw action in 16 games, including one start, and played every position except point guard at different times of the season.
“They’ve been watching me the whole time, really since my senior year,” Coleman said of the program that is located about two hours from his hometown. “And they never backed off when I came up to Putnam, they always checked in with me.”
Coleman was a favorite of his teammates at PSA and widely respected by the coaching staff.
“Trent is one of the best kids we’ve ever had at Putnam Science Academy. I really mean that,” Mustangs coach Tom Espinosa said. “He’s a kid who did whatever we asked. He played every position, covered anybody, he lost playing time when we brought in eight new guys for the second semester, and he never complained about any of it. He just worked.
“Trent has a great future ahead of him. He will be successful in whatever he does and I’m glad we had a chance to have him here.”
Coleman is the 11th member of the 2020-21 PSA Prep team to commit to playing in college; the first 10 will all be playing Division I, which Coleman said can only help him moving forward.
“I’m going to go up against good competition here at Southwest,” he said, “but I don’t think it’ll be matched up to Putnam in any way. Every game, every day in practice, you’re working against someone who is a Division I player. I don’t think I’m going to see that many guys at that level right away here. Playing at Putnam taught me how to play and fit in with other good players, not just being on a team with one or two guys who were good.
“And off the court too, Putnam taught me how to live. It got me ready for anything that might come my way. I appreciate all that Putnam has done for me.”
Coleman believes that with the foundation laid at PSA and the work he knows how to put in for the next year or two at Southwest, he can absolutely play at the Division I level.
“I knew in the back of my head that this is where I wanted to go just based on the players they’ve produced and the way me and the coach have been talking,” he said. “Signing my scholarship paperwork, it’s a relief because I finally made a decision and I can go to school for free.
“And I’m just really excited to see what the future holds for me.”
Coleman joins Josh Bascoe (Bucknell), Sean Durugordon (Missouri), Isaiah Folkes (Charlotte), Bryce Harris (Howard), Bensley Joseph (Miami), Nic Louis-Jacques (Colgate), Nana Owusu-Anane (Brown), Alexis Reyes (East Carolina), Mohamed Sanogo (Florida International), and Leon Williams (Gardner-Webb) as members of the 2020-21 PSA Prep team to commit to playing in college.
Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy
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