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There were plenty of options and plenty of rooting interests for Tom Espinosa as the NCAA Tournament kicked off March 19.
That’s because Espinosa, the Putnam Science Academy boys’ prep coach, had 12 former players involved in the tournament. Ten of them were expected to see some minutes; of the remaining two — one just joined the team in January and had yet to play, and the other was part of a coaching staff.
“It’s exciting, for the kids especially,” Espinosa said. “They’re the ones playing in the NCAA Tournament, March Madness, all that. But it is certainly exciting for us here too, and for me personally for sure. A lot of these kids were special players here and had a lot to do with what we’ve become. But it’s really cool to see so many of them getting this chance.”
Tyson Etienne and Wichita State played in a First Four game March 18. Etienne did not have a good game, scoring just one point in 27 minutes, as the Shockers lost 53-52 to Drake, which got nine huge points and 10 rebounds from Darnell Brodie. Drake’s run ended in its next game, a loss to USC, in which Brodie had six points and seven rebounds.
Josh Gray and LSU knocked off Kyle Lofton, Osun Osunniyi, and St. Bonaventure in the first round. Lofton had 10 points and five assists, Osunniyi finished with 15 points and nine rebounds in the 76-61 loss. Gray played just one minute and did not score. LSU played its second-round game Monday night against No. 1 Michigan.
Akok Akok didn’t play in UConn’s opening-round loss to Eric Ayala’s Maryland Terrapins. Ayala had a huge game however, scoring a game-high 23 points. Maryland faced No. 2 Alabama Monday night. (UConn graduate assistant coach Mamadou Diarra is a PSA alum.)
Vlad Goldin did not play in either of Texas Tech’s games, a first-round win followed by a second-round loss. Gabe McGlothan had 13 points and seven rebounds as No. 15 Grand Canyon’s bid to upset No. 2 Iowa fell short. And Abou Ousmane had four points in 16 minutes as North Texas, a 13-seed, upset No. 4 Purdue in the first round. He played just one minute in the team’s second-round loss to Villanova. Sean Durugordon, who joined Missouri in January after playing for PSA in the fall, did not play in the Tigers’ opening-round loss to Oklahoma.
Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy
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