caption, left to right:

Terrell Ard Jr.
Marty Silvera
D’Maurian Williams


The basketball season has been over for a few weeks now, but Putnam Science Academy’s prep team the basketball season continues to generate good news.
Three more players off the 2020 national championship-winning squad announced last week they would be accepting scholarship offers to play basketball at the Division I level next year.
Marty Silvera, from Worcester, was first, announcing March 31 he was headed to St. Peter’s University in New Jersey. Terrell Ard Jr. followed, declaring April 3 his commitment to the University of Alabama-Birmingham. And finally April 6, D’Maurian Williams made Gardner-Webb University in North Carolina his choice.
“This is what happens at PSA,” said coach Tom Espinosa. “We have some really talented players who come here and colleges take notice. These are big days for these kids and I couldn’t be happier for them.”
Silvera, in his second season at PSA, did a little bit of everything for the Mustangs, averaging 9.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 2.3 steals. Silvera, a 6-foot, 2-inch guard, didn’t have much of a role last year but rededicated himself in the offseason to become an integral piece of a team that went 36-4.
“Marty has earned this by completely turning himself around,” Espinosa said. “He went from being a practice player to being a starter and one of most consistent players. This is just a testament to how hard he is willing to work.”
Ard Jr. had zero offers when he graduated from Allatoona High School outside of Atlanta in 2019. None.
But after a strong summer on the AAU circuit with the Georgia Canes and his postgrad year at Putnam Science Academy, the attention and the offers started to roll in. He had nearly two dozen to choose from when he picked UAB.
“I came from nothing with no offers and not knowing where I was going to go to college,” said the uber-athletic 6-7 wing that averaged 7.8 points and 7.0 rebounds. “People telling me I wasn’t a Division I player. I was getting (junior college) offers with no money. I wasn’t even getting real D2 offers. It’s just crazy how I came up from nothing and now I’m at a place I didn’t always think was going to be possible. But God’s always got something for you.”
Williams was a great unknown for PSA heading into the regular season, as he missed the entire preseason with an injury. But he impressed from the first game and quickly earned the trust of the coaching staff. A 6-foot-5 guard, he averaged 9.9 points per game (third on the team) while shooting 45 percent from the field, including 40 percent on 3-pointers.
“Being at PSA this year was huge for me,” Williams said. “Just the platform to get the opportunity that I did. I feel like these schools wouldn’t even know about me if it wasn’t for PSA. I am so grateful to the coaches for bringing me in and giving me the opportunity.”
Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy

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