Step down may
be step up
Unfortunately for Luc Brittian, this is not a bide-your-time kind of thing. There was no guarantee, despite having already dedicated two years to the Putnam Science Academy basketball program, that he’d be a rotation player in 2019-20.
“I say all the time, Luc’s a very, very good basketball player,” said Mustangs coach Tom Espinosa. “He’s a scholarship player. But it’s very difficult to play here.
“We’re one of the best prep school teams in the country. It’s not easy to play. I feel for him because he’s deserving to play. But we just have so much talent, it’s tough to get in the rotation.”
And now, a third or so of the way through the season, it appears that Brittian’s best shot will come with a step down from the Prep team to the Varsity team.
For his part, Brittian, who two years ago was on the Varsity team before earning his spot on the Prep team last year, doesn’t utter a word of complaint.
“I think they’re giving me the most opportunity to showcase my talent,” said Brittian, who hails from nearby Storrs.
"I’m trusting coach Scraba, coach Espo with my basketball career and hope I make the most of it. At this point, I just want an opportunity to play and showcase my talent. Whether it’s Prep team, Varsity team, it doesn’t matter.
“I trust coach Espo with my basketball career. I trust that he knows where to point me. The Varsity and Prep thing…there’s a lot of guys on the prep team that are better than me, that get the higher D-1 looks.”
The coaching staff presented Brittian just before Thanksgiving break with the option to remain on the Prep roster by play limited minutes or join the varsity team and be part of the first wave of the rotation.
Coupling the lack of playing with the fact that at this stage of the season the Prep team isn’t having a lot of hard practices, Brittian understood Varsity would give him the chance to play and get better, as well as be seen by college coaches.
It may not have been an easy decision, but agreeing to join the Varsity team was logical. And he will continue to suit up for the Prep team as well.
“I’ve always believed in the saying ‘Trust the Process,”” he said.
“Basketball is a hard sport to receive a scholarship and play at the college level so I’ve always had it in my mind to always be patient.
Said Espinosa: “I give him a lot of credit because a lot of kids couldn’t do that. A lot of them would think it, ‘This is my third year. It’s my turn to get a shot.’ He’s not a complainer. He just comes out and gives it his all every day.”
Brittian, who at 6-foot, 6-inch and 210 pounds cuts an imposing and physical presence, is regarded as a Division II player at the collegiate level. He currently holds an offer from St. Michael’s in Vermont, and has other schools staying on contact and showing some interest.
“I’m fine with D-II,” he said. “I’m grateful to even receive a scholarship because there are a lot of people that don’t even get that. So whatever I have, whatever I end up with and end up taking, I’m appreciative of that. It’s where the shoe fits.
“The type of team we are, the players and athletes we have, and all the schools that want these players…the fact that I’m on the prep team, it shows me that I’m able to play with them. I’m a player that can play with the type of player who’s going to a high-major college. That’s an eye-opener for me.”
Brittian’s got a couple thoughts on what he wants to major in (criminal justice or business). But he knows he wants to keep playing basketball, in college and then overseas after that.
“I’d just like the opportunity to just keep playing and see where it brings me,” he said. I love the game. It’s always been something that’s been my go-to if I was going through something. Basketball was always my get-away. Basketball means a lot to me. I think it’s my therapy.”
Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy
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The old Santa took his final flight over Cargill
Falls, with 'a little' help from town crews.
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Sharpshooter
extraordinaire
Shooters are going to shoot. And when they start making their shots, they’re going to keep on shooting.
Such is the case for Putnam Science Academy’s Delaney Haines, a sharpshooter extraordinaire, whose confidence is going through roof after a recent stretch draining 3-pointers and helping the Mustangs to five straight wins.
“This has been my best basketball I’ve ever played,” said Delaney, a postgrad who had a pretty nice career at Deering High School in Portland, Maine. “When I hit a few shots, I’m just hoping I keep getting the ball. My teammates pick up on it. They know, ‘Oh, she’s hit three in a row’ and keep passing to me.”
She is averaging 15.6 points and 3.5 3-pointers over the last five games. She had 19 on five 3s last Saturday, when she was named MVP of the team’s game at the She Got Game Classic. She also drained five 3s a week earlier on her way to 21 points in a win over Bradford Christian Academy.
“When I see her shoot, I already start going back on defense because I’m that confident in her shot,” said teammate Niya Fields. “And we are very aware of when she gets hot. We try and get her open as much as possible for her shot.
“Her shooting gift is natural for her. I’d love to have a shot like that. It’s like (asking) a little kid if they want a shot like Steph Curry.”
That certainly seems to be the case. Haines, who acknowledged she doesn’t care much for Curry, the NBA superstar widely regarded as the league’s premier shooter, said she’s been playing since basketball since elementary school (it is the only sport she has ever played), and she has always been able to shoot.
“For me, it’s where I’m looking at the hoop,” Haines said. “I look at the back of the rim and aim at that. Most of my shots have been off catch-and-shoot. I haven’t had a lot of shots off the dribble or step-backs. Most of them have been I’m wide open, teammates pass it to me, and I make it.”
A lot of them have been on the break, too, which isn’t an accident.
“We love having her out there on the floor, especially in transition,” Coach Amanda Morales said. “We talk to the girls about finding her early. It just opens everything up for us when she hits them, and hits them on the fly. She adds huge depth and dimension to our offense.”
Haines ended up at PSA hoping to gain more college exposure and essentially gain back her senior season of high school, which she missed most of with a broken wrist. She has been talking to a number of Division II schools, as well as a couple from Division I.
The team’s success, and her part in it, will certainly go a long way to raising her stock even further. But for now, it’s catch and shoot, catch and shoot.
“Before I came here, 90 percent of what I worked on was shooting,” Haines said. “And coming here, I’ll get on the shooting gun a lot. I usually just work on that. It’s working well so far.”
Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy
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First honors
WORCESTER — Kendyll L. Smith of Brooklyn was named to first honors on the Clark University Dean’s List for the spring semester.
Gets degree
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Calvin Wentworth of Eastford graduated Cum Laude with a bachelor’s in criminal justice from Western New England University May 18, 2019.
Honored
WORCESTER — Megan Buxton of Pascoag, a junior at Worcester Academy, was named to the Headmaster’s List for Semester 2.