Your future, our focus
Sophomore Forward Is 2014-15 National Player Of The Year
Northwest College’s Chris Boucher is hard to read, hard to reach and even harder to forget.
He’s also a very, very good basketball player. And this past season, Boucher was the very best in NJCAA Division I men’s basketball.
On Thursday, Boucher, a 6-10 forward-center hybrid out of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, was named the 2014-15 Spalding NJCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Player of the Year.
Boucher was selected from a pool of thousands of players from more than 200 NJCAA Division I programs. Division I All-American awards were announced March 31, with Boucher earning a selection in that elite group as well, but the sophomore, who dazzled legions of fans, teammates, coaches and opponents from October to March, didn’t show much emotion after learning of the news.
Instead, the modest 22-yea-rold is taking it all in stride.
“I was still Chris Boucher before all of this happened, and nobody really noticed me,” he said. “I never saw myself as the best player in the world. Certain times I was like ‘OK, today I’m feeling myself,’ but I never thought I was that good.
“But, if they say I’m the best player in the NJCAA, I’ll for sure take it.”
If you talked to Boucher after his 2013-14 season, in which he finished with good, but not great, numbers while being underused at New Mexico Junior College, his humility would be understandable.
But after transferring to Northwest, he lured Division I coach after Division I coach to NWC’s Cabre Gym and beyond with dazzling dunks, ridiculous blocks, piles of rebounds and an unlikely ability to shoot 3-pointers.
His lone season with the Trappers ended at the NJCAA Division I Men’s National Basketball Championship in Hutchinson, Kan., where NWC fell 94-92 to eventual champion Northwest Florida State College in the quarterfinal round.
He earned an All- Tournament selection thanks to two monster games, and finished his campaign averaging 22.5 points, 11.8 rebounds and 4.7 blocks. He also converted 58 percent of his field goals and 44.4 percent of his shots from downtown.
In less than a week, Boucher’s list of NCAA DI suitors has grown from a small handful to a large mouthful. He was hoping to have his college destination decided in the coming days, but is now planning to use the entire allotted time, which runs through May.
He said his phone rarely stays silent, to the point where he ignores constant phone calls and text messages from hopeful coaches.
“It’s stressful in the way that I have to make a decision soon for my future ... that’s crazy, man,” Boucher said. “I can’t wait to just find my school so I can just focus on that.”
Northwest College men’s head basketball coach Brian Erickson said he hopes Boucher eventually understands what he’s achieved, and embraces the positive attention.
“He’s earned all of this,” Erickson said. “I couldn’t be more proud of him and what he’s accomplished the entire year and helped our team accomplish. “This award is special for our program. He’s one of many on the team this year that helped get us to where we are.”
Boucher said Erickson is just as responsible for his breakout year as he is. After spending a frustrating freshman season in New Mexico, he made the decision to transfer behind a promise from Erickson to let Boucher be Boucher.
“Coach Erickson gave me the green light, basically,” Boucher explained. “He really gave me that energy and let me play my game the way I’ve always played it.
“The confidence he had in me and the confidence I then had in myself really helped me out. I knew I could be good at something, I just needed to know what and where.”
As is his humble nature, Boucher insisted the credit remain with those he believes helped pave the way to his success.
“Player of the Year ... I didn’t make it by myself,” Boucher said. “Everything that I got — that we got — this year is because of the team, the coaches ... even the athletic trainers and you media guys. You all pushed me to be what I am now.”
When asked about what he thinks he can be in the future, Boucher said he’s recently spent time watching the men’s NCAA Tournament on television. He admitted he’s been envisioning himself engulfed in March Madness next season, but not as a spectator.
“Maybe that could be me next year,” he said. “Everyone has helped me so much, and next year I’ll be in the NCAA, and who knows after that.
“I just want to go farther than I went this year, and if I want to make it far, I have to keep thinking about the future.”