Leading scorer Hassan Diarra tops PSA’s '24 Hall of Fame
PUTNAM — Putnam Science Academy released its Hall of Fame Class of 2024, led by all-time leading scorer and two-time national champion Hassan Diarra. Diarra is one of eight members of the incoming class, which also features former players Kyle Lofton, Osun Osunniyi, Jose Perez, Tyson Etienne, and Danny Upchurch, as well as the 2017-18 team that won the school’s first national championship, and contributor Donald Cushing.
Diarra played three seasons at PSA and left his mark both in the record books and in PSA’s lasting legacy. He tops the school’s all-time leaderboard in points (1,469), assists (470), and games played (118) and upon his graduation after the 2019-20 season, was the only player in school history to win two national titles. He is second all-time in career scoring average (12.5 points per game), steals (193), and 3-pointers made (140). Diarra, highly regarded as the face of PSA’s basketball program, is also fourth in career rebounds (522) and has the third-most 20-point games in a career with 12. After PSA, Diarra played two seasons at Texas A&M before transferring to UConn, where he has won two NCAA championships with the Huskies. Diarra’s older brother, Mamadou, is a member of the Hall of Fame Class of 2021.
Lofton was at PSA in 2017-18 before heading to St. Bonaventure. One of the top point guards in program history, Lofton averaged 10.2 points and 5.9 assists, and his 241 total assists are the third-most in a single season at PSA. Lofton was also a defensive handful, as he finished the season with 77 steals, the sixth-highest total in a single season, and he still holds the single-game record with eight.
Perez was a teammate of Lofton’s on the 2017-18 team and was one of the best scorers in PSA history. In 42 games he scored 651 points, which is the second-highest total in a single season, and his average of 15.5 points per game sits just outside the single-season Top 10. He had 11 games with at least 20 points, including two of at least 30. Perez, who went to Gardner-Webb University after PSA, made 77 3-pointers that year, good for 11th in a single season, and he was also adept at getting to the free throw line where he made 119 of 171 shots for a 69.6% clip, all of which are the sixth-highest totals in a single season.
Osunniyi was a third member of the 2017-18 team and is arguably the greatest defensive player to ever wear the PSA uniform. In 42 games he blocked 77 shots, which is the third-highest total in a single season and sixth-most all-time. But he wasn’t just a shot blocker; Osunniyi, who joined Lofton at St. Bonaventure, drew a school single-season record 31 charges, which also puts him first on the all-time list in that category. He added 9.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per game while making 59.1% of his field goal attempts.
Lofton, Perez, and Osunniyi all played key roles on the 2017-18 team that went 39-3 and delivered the school’s first national championship. All 13 members of the team went on to play college basketball, including 11 at the Div. I level. PSA scored 100 or more points 18 times and won its games by an average of 23.5 points. The Mustangs had big wins over St. Thomas More, Brewster Academy, Montverde Academy, and OSL and finished the year with 24 straight wins. All three of the Mustangs’ losses that year were by six points or fewer.
Etienne is widely considered the hardest working player to ever play at PSA, and stories of his work ethic are passed down every year since he played in 2018-19. His steady hand led the Mustangs to a 38-2 record and spot in the national semifinals. Etienne, currently playing in the NBA G-League with the Long Island Nets, led PSA in scoring (14.6) and was second in assists (4.0), while also averaging a shade over 1 steal per game. Etienne, who went on to a great career at Wichita State after PSA, had eight games of at least 20 points (including a team-high 26) and finished with three double-doubles.
Upchurch was one of the best players in PSA’s early years, starring for the Mustangs in 2013-14. Helped the team in assists (7.6 per game) and was second on the team in scoring (13.7 points). His 258 assists are the second-most in a single season and seventh all-time. Upchurch, who played at Charleston Southern following his PSA career, had nine games with at least 10 assists, including two with 14, which is the school’s single-game record, and he finished the year with six double-doubles.
Cushing, meanwhile, has been one of the most ardent backers and supporters of PSA athletics as a whole and the Prep basketball team in particular since the program’s inception. He has served as PSA’s Head of School twice, helping transition through a couple of difficult times. With more than 40 years of experience as a school administrator, teacher, and coach, Cushing has served as a mentor to PSA ownership and administration over the last eight years especially.
This is PSA’s third Hall of Fame class, with induction ceremonies scheduled for June 14.
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