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Contributing To Oregon Ducks’ NCAA Tournament Run
It is a big step to take, from high school sports to any level of college athletics.
For former Northwest College standout Chris Boucher, it has taken three steps, but his long strides have taken him to a very enviable situation on the University of Oregon Ducks as they make their way to the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, for their Sweet 16 game against Duke today (Thursday).
“It’s just fun to watch and see how much he has improved,” Northwest head coach Brian Erickson said. “From his first day here, to the last day and now seeing how he’s using what we worked on at Oregon.”
Boucher, a 6’ 10” junior from Montreal, took the junior college route after graduating from Damase Boulanger High School, attending New Mexico Junior College his freshman season.
“When he was either a sophomore or a junior in high school he was 6’1”, but then grew 9 inches,” Erickson said. “He grew up and not out, so he wasn’t really recruited much. The coach at New Mexico said he had a guard I might be interested in, but I was really needing a big, I saw him on film and 72 hours later it was a done deal.”
His season with the Trappers certainly landed him on many other radars as Boucher averaged 22.5 points, 11.8 rebounds and over five blocked shots per game.
He recorded three triple-doubles and showed some impressive shooting range for a big man, connecting on 44.4 percent from three-point range.
Still, even with his size and stats on the community college level, how they translated to playing with a Division I program, a top-tier one at that, were in question.
“I knew he could have an impact with them, depending on how they used him,” Erickson said. “A lot of the coaches that were looking at him thought he might be too skinny, but I knew from watching him every day in practice, with how physical we get, that he could hold his own. And defensively, whether it’s blocking shots or just effecting shots, teams have to game-plan for him.”
Boucher didn’t just join the team and contribute in a limited role, he became a key cog for Oregon, leading the team in rebounding and blocked shots, while starting 33 of the Ducks’ 36 games and averaging 12 points per game.
His contributions in the NCAA Tournament, thus far, have been mixed.
In Oregon’s opening-round, a 91-52 blowout of Holy Cross, Boucher shot 8-of-12 from the field and led the Ducks with 20 points in just 17 minutes of playing time.
But in a much more heated contest with St. Joseph’s on Sunday, a 69-64 Oregon win, Boucher scored just two points, had a mere four rebounds in 21 minutes, but did make his presence known defensively with three blocked shots.
“That second game was more about game planning and matchups,” Erickson said. “He’ll have a tough one against (7-foot, Marshall) Plumlee and Duke’s couple other good bigs. But Chris should be fine.”
That Ducks, Blue Devils contest will air tonight (Thursday) at 8 p.m. on TBS, where you can see former Trapper Chris Boucher continue to make strides.