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It was during a break at a recent PSA boys’ Prep basketball practice that coach Tom Espinosa looked over toward the rest of the coaching staff and said, “We do everything really well.” That they do.
The Mustangs hit the semester break ranked No. 1 in the national coaches poll with a spotless 13-0 record, winning by an average score of 126-83. They’ve beaten No. 14 Springfield Commonwealth by 16 and No. 13 South Kent by 30. They beat No. 7 Hargrave Military by 20 on a neutral court.
Their defense has been suffocating throughout, which has led to easy offense.
They have shooters and rebounders and defenders and attackers.
So yes, they do everything well.
“You know, we recruit kids and then hope they’re all as good as we think,” Espinosa said. “But it never pans out that way. Historically, some kids are better than we thought they’d be and then there are some who are not as good as we thought they’d be.
“But this year, we feel like we hit a home run with each kid. They’re what we expected and they all bring something to the table, which is just honestly very unusual. It just doesn’t happen. Everything has just kind of clicked. We’ve got a good, special group of kids.”
And when you look at the Mustangs on paper, they don’t blow you away with a roster full of guys going to Kentucky and Duke and Baylor and Gonzaga. Aside from Desmond Claude, who came off the bench for the first seven games and has offers from Kansas, Louisville, Xavier, Rutgers, and Pittsburgh among others, it’s just a lot of underrated, chip-on-their-shoulder mid-major players.
“But we hit a home run,” Espinosa reiterated. “Everyone brings something special to the team.”
Arturo Dean has been the biggest revelation, averaging 17.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 3.8 steals as the team’s energizer.
“I never thought he’d be this good,” Espinosa said. “The kid really didn’t have any Division I offers and what he’s doing on one of the biggest stages is remarkable.”
Darryl Simmons continues to be the head of the snake, averaging 9.5 points and 3.5 assists, moving the ball and getting people where they need to be. DayDay Gittens scored his 1,000th career high school point in the final game before the break and has been a lockdown defender. Barry Evans recently became just the second PSA player to post a triple-double. Mouhamed Dioubate has seven double-doubles in 13 games. Taiga Jones and Sotirios Nafpliotis are sharpshooters with deep range coming off the bench.
Said Espinosa: “I’ve been happy with the way things have gone, obviously. There is always room to grow and improve and our schedule is tough when we come back from the break (including a January 16 showdown with No. 2 Northfield Mount Hermon). But these guys have shown that they’re committed to what we’re trying to do. You always want to be playing your best basketball in February and March, not November and December, so I still expect a lot.
“But I will take being 13-0 and playing really well right now, rather than struggling for a semester and trying to figure it out when we get back. It’s our job as coaches to motivate them and keep them focused and trying to get better. We have a lot of strong leaders on and off the court too, which I have always said makes a huge difference. The goal is to win the national championship and we think this can be a special group.”
By Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy
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