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Boubacar Diatta was looking around the gym during the first week of practice when it struck him.
“I was just seeing how deep we are,” he said. “I was just thinking, ‘Dang, we’ve got a really good team.’ I mean, we do. We’ve got a really good team.”
Putnam Science Academy obviously has had talented teams in the past. You can’t be a national powerhouse that’s won four national championships without them. But this 2023-24 team is different.
“This team definitely can have a special season,” coach Tom Espinosa said. “It is the deepest team we have ever had. By far. It’s crazy how deep this team is. These guys are all really good. It’s crazy how much talent we have in this gym.”
That’s where things can sometimes go sideways though, because not everyone can be the leading scorer or dominate the ball. In fact, there are going to be two or three really good players who aren’t part of the rotation and won’t see regular playing time.
“From what I’ve learned, everything gets solved with time,” said Diatta, one of the talented newcomers on this team. “Everyone will start to see and know what they’re best at and be able to shine in that spot, in their position. Everyone has to be in it for the team.”
Said Ben Ahmed, who helped PSA to the title last year: “Everyone has a role to play here. You can’t care about personal stats here. It’s about team, not about individual performance. You have to believe in your coaches and your teammates, you have to buy in to play for each other. If we do that, everyone can be successful. I’ve seen it, that’s what we did last year.”
Ahmed is one of only three returners from last year’s team that went 39-3 and finished on a 24-game winning streak, joining Oswin Erhunmwunse, and guard Ramsay Checo. Hard to believe that Ahmed is still just a sophomore but it’s true. He’s physically imposing at 6-foot, 10-inch and 215 pounds, then backs it up with his rugged game. He could legitimately become the school’s single-season and all-time leading rebounder this year with just the natural growth in his game. Erhunmwunse meanwhile makes his greatest impact on the defensive end. The shot-blocking extraordinaire changed the team when he joined just before the semester break last year, and will do the same this season when he returns from shoulder surgery in late December or early January. Checo missed the bulk of last year with knee ailments but his aggressive, in-your-face style fits the Mustangs, especially defensively.
There is not a weak link among the newcomers either, as Espinosa said.
Amadou Doumbia is the only other conventional big man on the roster, a powerful competitor who has a solid and expanding offensive game. In the backcourt, Derrick Morris is a pass-first point guard and though he’s undersized at 5-9, he makes up for it with unlimited energy and leadership skills. Coaches, teammates, and PSA staff have raved about Morris since he stepped on campus. Mekhi Conner is a prototypical point guard with a great feel and a great edge to his game.
Dame Givner is young (he won’t turn 17 until January) but already a proven scorer and winner. His change of pace is among the best PSA has ever had. Que Duncan is by most accounts the best offensive player on the team and on most nights will be the best shooter in the gym (he once hung 40 on PSA while playing at Notre Dame-West Haven). And Abubacarr Camara came to school an essential unknown amongst the coaches but played his way onto the team with an impressive preseason. He’s tough and gets after it on defense, which is a quick way to earn minutes with this coaching staff.
Things really get deep out on the wing.
The aforementioned Boubacar Diatta will fill up the stat sheet as he does just about everything on both ends of the floor really well and really hard, and figures to be among the team leaders in many different categories. Watch out for Fallou Gueye, a long lefty who can put it on the floor and loves to attack the rim. His length and athleticism on the defensive end are going to cause a lot of problems for the opposition. Meanwhile, Justin Johnson is a potential pro who has the ability to take this team to a different level. He’s up there talent-wise with guys Hamidou Diallo, Mo Dioubate, Scoochie Smith, and Tyson Etienne.
Cris McElveen is another one who can do a little bit of everything, and along with his energetic style, will provide a good spark off the bench. Noah Mendy was good in the preseason, then saw his game take off once practices started. He’s got a big-time skill set to make an impact much sooner than expected. At 6-10, Amdy Ndiaye would seem to fit inside for PSA but his repertoire allows him to do much more. Bouncy and athletic, eyes are easily drawn to him on the court. And Noah Sun follows in the footsteps of international sharpshooters like Soti Nafpliotis and Taiga Jones, as he can knock shots down from just about anywhere and will provide that quick-strike capability off the bench.
How all the talent shakes out into minutes remains to be seen but it’s a long season with plenty of peaks and valleys, and PSA history shows that at some point everyone is going to be needed. And as they build to those moments, they will build team chemistry.
“At some point everyone will want to see each other eat,” McElveen said. “It will continue to become more about team than self.
“The coaches do a great job of being real and telling us what we need to know in order to get where we want to get to individually and as a team, which is to win a third straight championship. If everyone falls in line and we’re all humble-minded, we’ll get there.”
Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy
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