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On any given night, Putnam Science Academy men’s prep basketball team is putting at least a dozen Division I scholarship players on the floor. Some nights, such as last Friday night, the opponent only suits up seven players, total.
The Mustangs simply find themselves with a distinct talent advantage in so many of their games, and through their first six (all wins), while Hassan Diarra is the focal point, a number of his teammates have taken their turn to put their individual talents on display. Sometimes it’s D’Maurian Williams, sometimes it’s JuJu Murray, sometimes it’s Eli Everett, sometimes it’s Josh Gray, sometimes it’s Julian Dozier, sometimes it’s … you get the point.
Last Friday, against Redemption Christian Academy, it was Terrell Ard’s turn. The 6-foot, 7-inch, 205-pound wing put his athletic game on full display as one of the major catalysts in the team’s 119-89 win. Ard, a postgrad from Atlanta, had a season-high 13 points to go along with five rebounds, three blocks, and two steals. Offensively, he took the ball to the basket, and hit short jumpers and long 3-pointers alike. He slashed to the basket, he started fast breaks, and he finished others (with violent alley-oops). Defensively, he dove for loose balls, he created turnovers while guarding the ball and while playing solid help defense.
With a nagging preseason ankle sprain well behind him, there was little doubt that this was his best game of the young season and that this is what he is capable of every time out.
“Terrell played great,” said PSA coach Tom Espinosa. “This is just the beginning. We’re going to play another 35, 36 more games, and down the stretch he’s going to be really, really good.
“He’s a mismatch nightmare. He’s strong enough and can put the ball on the floor, shooting it pretty well, can score it around the rim, he’s a crazy athlete. He’s tough and that’s what we need from him every day.”
Ard hadn’t been much of a factor to this point, as he’s tried to navigate his way through playing in a new system in which his position on the floor can be fluid. He heard from the PSA coaching staff about starting to give more to get more.
“They have been talking to me lately and telling me I needed to pick up my energy,” Ard said. “They just told me to pick it up, and that’s what I feel I did.
“My role on this team is that I’ll help the team in any way. Rebounding, playing defense, whatever it is. What this team needs me to do, I’m going to do it.”
Earlier in the day Friday, Ard picked up another scholarship offer, this one from Siena College. And though he now has more than a dozen to choose from (all mid-major programs), it’s easy to say he is still being overlooked.
“I’ve been to a decent amount of schools and a lot of team camps,” Ard said, “a lot of coaches and players telling me I’ve been the best player there. Everybody who talks to me says I’m a high-major player.
“But I know a lot of those schools haven’t offered because they’re concerned with my motor and they want me to keep that consistent. I’m going to keep working to get what I’ve got to get. And at the end of the day, I’m just going to look for my best fit.”
Friday was a good move in that direction, Diarra said.
“He definitely brought energy. I thought he was more aggressive. He was just playing his game. I thought he looked comfortable out there. And I think he’s figuring out how to play in this system. How to get his a little bit, and how to do what he does well in the system. We’ve seen him do this. He practices hard every day. He can do a lot of things well. He can shoot, defend a lot of people, 1 through 4. When he’s good like that for us, it’s going to be good.”
Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy
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