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Chris Boucher — who played for the Northwest College basketball team two years ago — signed a two-way contract with the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors Thursday night.
“This is such a great accomplishment for him,” said NWC head basketball coach Brian Erickson, who coached Boucher during the 2014-15 season. “He has come such a long way and worked very hard to be where he is at. To think of all the things he has overcome, this accomplishment is amazing.”
A two-way contract allows a player to go back and forth between the developmental D-League and the NBA. The player is essentially on retainer for the NBA team while they continue to hone their skills and develop as a player.
Boucher is still in the beginning stages of healing from an ACL injury he suffered earlier this year, media outlets have reported, and the two-way contract is a good way for future prospects of an NBA team to continue to develop and hone their skills and recover from an injury. Each NBA team is allotted two spots on the roster for two-way players.
During his season with the Trappers, Boucher helped lead the NWC men to the Region IX Championship and was named the NJCAA Division I Player of the Year and a first-team All-American. The Canadian averaged 22.5 points and 11.8 rebounds per game and had 18 double-doubles and three triple-doubles in the season.
After his year at NWC, Boucher transferred to to the University of Oregon, where he played two seasons with the Ducks. Boucher had been expected to be a key player in an NCAA tournament run for Oregon, but his season ended prematurely when he tore his ACL in the Pac-12 semi-final game.
The University of Oregon’s bio on Boucher features many statistics about his career as a Duck. They include finishing in the university’s No. 2 spot in most career blocked shots (189) and No. 4 in career field goal percentage (53.2percent) while scoring a total of 825 points. During his senior year, Boucher averaged 12 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game — with his blocks putting him 15th in the nation.
In his junior year, Boucher shattered a couple University of Oregon records, blocking 110 shots on the year and nine in one game.
Beyond his athletic accomplishments, Boucher graduated from Oregon with a bachelor’s degree in sociology this semester — becoming the first in his family to graduate from college, the CBC reported.
“Athletics and a full-ride scholarship helped him get where he is,” coach Erickson said. “It shows how important athletics can be in someone’s life and what scholarships can do to help someone achieve their goals and get an education.”
The Trapper coach added that Boucher “has put Northwest College on the national map.”