By Ron P. Coderre

Last season the Putnam Science Academy Mustangs rose to the heights of the prep school ranks posting a gaudy 29-5 record and making the Elite 8 of the National Prep Championships under coach Tom Espinosa who enters his ninth season at the helm.  The season was the best in the history of varsity basketball at the school.

Gone from last season’s team are such stalwarts as Danny Upchurch, Chaise Daniels, Jordan Butler, Anthony Durham, Dalique Mingo, Jalen Terry and Kyle Menard.  On the prep level the coach’s job is to find ways to fill the gaps that occur each season.  Espinosa appears to be a Houdini at doing this, as each season he finds a way to fill the holes created as players move on to the next level.

As the Mustangs prepare for the upcoming season Espinosa began plugging the holes in the dike with point guard Kealen Ives from Providence, who’s expected to be the leader of the team on the floor and in the locker room.  Joining Ives in the backcourt is 6-foot, 4-inch Hamidou Diallo, the talented shooting guard from Queens, N.Y., and combo guard Josh Wallace, who will either start or serve as a catalyst off the bench.  

In the frontcourt the Scientists will rely on “The Big Eze” 6-8 Vincent Eze at center.  He’ll be flanked by the athletic Andrew Robinson, a shooter and scorer, and a young 6-8 Mamadou Diarra who plays well on both ends of the court and should be a monster off the boards.  Another rugged wing is Aaron Robinson, twin brother of Andrew, who is equally comfortable as a starter or coming off the bench.  In addition to scoring underneath he’s also a threat off the dribble.

Supplying depth off the bench is 6-5 Dondre Rhoden, who Espinosa describes as an “undersized big man” and Ertugrul Gazi, a point guard from Istanbul, Turkey, who’s been a pleasant surprise in the preseason.  Rounding out the squad are seniors Emirhan Ozturk, Burak Eraslan and Mayil Muradov and junior three-point threat Ruslan Badalov.

“This is a good group of kids, who came to school in great shape, have been practicing hard and are thirsting to play.  This is a very fast team, that possesses athleticism and skill,” said Espinosa.

Looking at a team that is capable of going nine-deep without losing much strength, the Mustangs plan on pushing the ball on offense to take advantage of their size and speed.  On defense they’ll rely heavily on man-to-man D and some zone press.  In order to duplicate any semblance of last season Espinosa will have to get maximum effort from everyone, every game.

In usual Espinosa style the Mustangs will not shy away from any competition and will travel to play the best.  This group faces a tough 35-game schedule with an unusually high number of 12 games at home.  They’ve formed an alliance with Lee Academy of Maine, Redemption Christian Academy of Massachusetts, Notre Dame Prep of Fitchburg and Commonwealth Academy of Springfield, calling themselves the Big-5, which will conclude the season with a tournament prior to the National Championships.

The Mustangs open on the road at perennial power Tilton Academy and play in a number of invitational tournaments.  In early December they travel to Virginia for the Best Western Caisson Shootout against Fork Union, Fishburne and Hargrave in games scheduled to be aired on ESPNU.  Locally they face tough tests against Hyde-Woodstock and St. Thomas More of Oakdale.  A sampling of other teams on the schedule includes noted powers Mt. Zion, Brewster Academy, South Kent and Bridgton Academy.

“By playing the best teams up and down our schedule makes everyone strive to play their very best every game.  It also provides us an opportunity to showcase our players to coaches throughout the country.  Needless to say it’s also great recognition for our school,” said Espinosa.

Can Espinosa’s charges repeat the great performance of their 2013-2014 predecessors?  That’s the question facing this team.  Are they durable enough?  Deep enough?  And able to withstand the rigors and stress of the 35-game schedule?

“Our immediate goal is to keep getting better every day.  We want to win the games we should and some we aren’t expected to.  By stressing the little things and being picky with the basics we can succeed.  Winning the Big-5 title and getting to the Nationals isn’t out of this teams reach if they play hard every game,” said Espinosa.

Espinosa will be joined on the bench by associate head coach Josh Scraba, who is in his seventh season with the Mustangs.  Dan Gomes and Travis Godley will serve as assistants, Ryan Rumrill, director of basketball operations and Eric Mauer, strength and conditioning coach.

 

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