Sometime during his first semester at Putnam Science last year, there was a moment Adama Tambedou had to make an important choice. The 6-foot-8 forward had a promising preseason with the Mustangs, but when the season began, he wasn’t in the rotation. He struggled to find minutes.
There were serious questions on if he should stay at the school. Tambedou had opportunities to go elsewhere, and could have left for guaranteed playing time. But he declined the easy way out. Conversations with Putnam head coach Tom Espinosa and his family gave him clarity to stay at the Connecticut prep school and fight and earn his chance.
“He stuck it out. Not many kids would have stayed,” Espinosa said. “(His family) didn’t want him to quit, I don’t think he’s ever quit anything in his life. He was like, ‘God challenged me here and I’m gonna take the challenge and keep fighting,’ and that’s what he’s done his whole life.”
From there, Tambedou put his head down and worked. He took his raw, athletic tools and started putting things together. Eventually, he forced Espinosa’s hand, cracked the rotation and produced an impactful second semester that helped Putnam win the national prep championship. The momentum carried into the spring and summer, when he had a breakout grassroots season with Rhode Island Elite and transformed himself into a high-major recruit. On Tuesday, it all culminated as he announced his commitment to Maryland and head coach Buzz Williams.
Tambedou averaged 16 points, 11 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game on the Puma circuit this season as he racked up offers that also included Iowa State, Arizona State and Creighton. His size and strength combined with his physicality, athleticism and motor on both ends of the court may be unmatched across the national 2026 class.
“His motor is off the charts, that’s the bottom line. He plays so hard, nonstop,” Espinosa said. “It’s amazing. I’ve never seen a kid like this.”
At one point, Tambedou might have played too hard. During that first semester at Putnam, he played out of control – and Espinosa needed to rein him in. He would shoot the ball whenever he touched it. If he got a defensive rebound, he was almost always trying to take it coast to coast, and it often resulted in bad turnovers. Espinosa had to adjust his focus.
“We basically told him at one point, like hey listen, you’re coming into the game and all you’re thinking about is scoring, scoring, scoring,” Espinosa said. “You have to come into the game and not even think about shooting the ball, and if you do that, you’re going to end up scoring 10 or 12 points and six or seven rebounds. Don’t even think about shooting or scoring, and if you do that, it’s all going to come. You’re going to get a tip dunk, get a floater, you have to let it come and he really did that. He’s slowed down and he hasn’t put as much pressure on himself offensively.”
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Tambedou averaged 7 points and 6 rebounds with a steal and block over 13 minutes per game last season at Putnam before his breakout spring and summer with Rhode Island Elite. There was more control and clearly more confidence as he played more. He was a standout at the NEPSAC Scholastic Showcase in June, when his fingerprints were all over a signature win over Brewster. He was getting defensive stops, showing a soft shooting touch around the rim, grabbing offensive rebounds and flying everywhere. He made an insane chase-down block in the final minute that helped preserve the victory.
Tambedou’s toughness and resilience have always been there. When he hurt his ankle in the preseason last year, Espinosa said he refused to sit out. The game means everything to him.
“He would almost come to tears and say, ‘Coach, I’m not sitting out, let me play, I need to play,’” Espinosa said. “The guy, he’s different. He’s built different. He’s a warrior. Tough, tough kid and just refuses to sit. His motor is like something I’ve never seen before.”
Tambedou will now turn his attention to his final prep season at Putnam, where much will be expected of him. He’s one of only four returners for Espinosa, who wants his star forward to take a leap with his leadership.
“He leads by example, he plays so hard. I need him to be a vocal leader,” Espinosa said. “People look up to him. He had a great spring and summer and kids know who he is, we have some young Africans in the program. That’s what I’m looking for — being in full uniform, being on time for class, being the first one in the gym, being a leader. I think that’s really important. We need leadership and he can really help us out in that area.”
