A deep roster with several veteran front court players made it hard for Akok Akok to see action last season at Putnam Science Academy, but the 6-foot-9 big man found other ways to improve his game.

“He was definitely disappointed her didn’t play a lot,” PSA coach Tom Espinosa said. “But I tell you this, the kid came to practice every single day and worked as hard as he could. It takes somebody mentally tough to do that knowing that you’re not going to play in a game.

“But that’s what he did and that’s how he got better.”