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Oswin Erhunmwunse is from Benin City, Nigeria.
But when the Putnam Science 6-foot, 9-inch defensive wiz announced last week that he was committing to Providence College, a major factor was that he wanted to stay home.
“Putnam has made me who I am, on and off the court,” said the freakishly athletic Erhunmwunse, who chose Kim English’s Friars over Creighton, Okla., and Georgia Tech. “I’m one of the top prospects, in a New England prep school. So if I can do it at the prep school level, I can do it at the college level. I want to be a guy other commits look up to, like ‘Oh yes, he stayed in New England.’ I want to be a legend here. I want to hopefully make it to the NBA and know I did everything in New England.
“New England accepted me. The whole time I’ve been in America, I’ve been in New England. New England has taken me as its own. I go to PC games and everyone is like ‘We want you here!’ Not that I didn’t get that from the other schools too, but I felt like I was loved at Providence. I’m not going to miss that opportunity. I feel like I can go there, play through my mistakes, get better, and know that I have the alumni and fans backing me up.”
Erhunmwunse, who came to the U.S. in May 2022 and plays his AAU ball with Team New England, is in his second season with PSA. He averaged 7.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks in 27 games (he joined the Mustangs in mid-December). PSA took on an entirely new identity with him patrolling the paint and went on to win a fourth national title last year. His block in the final seconds of the championship game helped seal that win.
“When I got here last year, I struggled a little bit because I was the man (at my previous school) and when I got here there were a lot of good players,” he said. “I wasn’t that guy. I had to buy in and do something that other people don’t do. Every day, coach Espo tells us to do something different. I looked at the team and looked at what they didn’t have, which was a shotblocker and a rim runner. That’s what I decided to do. That’s what got me my minutes. I started playing 10 minutes, then 20 minutes, sometimes the whole game.”
Erhunmwunse injured his shoulder last season but opted to put off surgery until this past summer. His rehab was long but has finally come to an end, and he suited up for the first time this season over the past weekend, with PSA mired in an unprecedented five-game losing streak.
“Hopefully now that I’m back, I can be a guy who makes a difference,” he said. “I think we can still make a run and win it. We have guys who want to win, guys who buy in to the team.”
Erhunmwunse’s much-anticipated debut Friday night wasn’t enough to bring PSA a win though, as the Mustangs endured a sixth straight loss (the longest such streak in program history), 82-81 to Vermont Academy. Erhunmwunse had 12 points and six rebounds but PSA couldn’t overcome a 16-point halftime deficit. Justin Johnson finished with 14 points, Grant Randall added 10 points and six boards in his first game with PSA, and Ben Ahmed had 11 points and four rebounds.
The losing streak ended Sunday night though with an 88-63 win over Cushing Academy. Erhunmwunse had just two points but grabbed a couple rebounds and blocked three shots in what was designed limited playing time. Johnson scored 19 points on just nine shots, Amdy Ndiaye had 13 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and three steals, and Tony Williams (four points, five assists) and Cris McElveen (nine points, six rebounds) provided a needed spark off the bench.
Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy
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