HOULTON, Maine — Kyle Bouchard has gotten a big decision out of the way, verbally committing to study and join the men’s basketball program at Bentley University on scholarship once he graduates from Houlton High School next June.
“I feel relieved,” said the 6-foot-4-inch guard-forward, who led the Shiretowners to the Class C state championship last winter.
Bouchard considered scholarship offers from Bentley, an NCAA Division II school in Waltham, Massachusetts, as well as from the University of Maine and Houston Baptist, both Division I programs, before informing coaches at all three schools of his decision Monday morning.
The ultimate choice was between Bentley and Maine.
“It was very honestly the hardest decision I’ve had to make in my life to this point,” said Bouchard. “I’ve been pretty stressed out about it. I really had to look at it and compare the two schools without looking at [basketball] division too much because obviously they’re not the same division, but for me it came down to the fact that I really liked everything about Bentley.
“It’s one of the best business schools in the country. They’ve got a successful basketball program, a great coach and I love everything about it,” he said.
Bouchard, a 17-year-old honor-roll student at Houlton, will formalize his decision in November when he signs a National Letter of Intent accepting the scholarship offer from coach Jay Lawson and the Falcons.
“My decision had nothing to do with any negatives about either school,” Bouchard said. “The fact I liked both schools so much and could picture myself being happy and successful at both schools so much was what made it so hard.
“And as hard as it was because I love basketball, and it’s been a huge part of my life so far, I had to step back and look at more the schools and how I was going to fit in and how it was going to affect my future,” he said.
Bouchard is a two-time Bangor Daily News All-Maine selection, earning first-team honors last winter after leading Houlton to an undefeated season and its first state championship in a decade.
The Eastern C tournament most valuable player and All-Penobscot Valley Conference selection averaged 25 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists per game for coach Rob Moran’s club last season. He capped off his junior year with 28 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists — and the game-winning free throws with 1.3 seconds left in overtime — during Houlton’s 58-56 victory over Waynflete of Portland in the state final.
“I think he made a good decision just based on after college. Bentley’s a great business school, one of the best in the country, and I think he’ll do well there,” said Moran. “I think a big part of him wanted to play Division I, but each one of those schools offered him a great opportunity.
“Kyle brings a lot to the table. He’s tough, he’s versatile, he can guard all kinds of different positions and play a lot of roles for a team, and he’s a leader. He’s been a leader for me since day one of his freshman year.”
Bouchard also has been a three-year member of the Maine Athletic Club 17-and-under AAU team coached by Carl Parker that this summer placed 11th in the Division I 11th-Grade National Championships at Louisville, Kentucky.
Bouchard also was a key player when the Maine Athletic Club U17 team won the 2013 AAU 11th-Grade Supershowcase silver bracket championship in Orlando, Florida.
“The style Bentley plays fits Kyle well,” said Parker. “Kyle is highly motivated, a tremendous leader, and a hard worker who gets people to follow him because of how hard he plays.
“And defensively in that league he can probably guard all five positions. His defensive instincts and basketball IQ will help him to fit in quickly. Where a lot of freshmen — unless they’re a point guard sometimes who are directing things — don’t fit in quite as quickly, he will be able to and he also can play multiple positions.”
Among Bouchard’s classmates at Bentley will be 2013 Maine Gatorade Player of the Year Zach Gilpin of Hampden Academy, who will join the Falcons for the 2015-16 season after spending the next academic year studying and playing basketball at Bridgton Academy.
Bouchard and Gilpin will be among numerous Maine high school standouts who have gone on to play at Bentley.
Four of the top five scorers on Bentley’s 18-11 team last winter were from the Pine Tree State, led by Tyler McFarland of Rockport and Camden Hills Regional High School, who earned All-Northeast 10 second-team honors after averaging 18 points and seven rebounds per game while shooting 49.5 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.
McFarland will be back on the 2014-15 Bentley roster, as will Keegan Hyland of South Portland, Alex Furness of Wells and Andrew Shaw of Saco.
“It didn’t hurt,” said Bouchard of Bentley’s Maine connection, “but being completely honest, it didn’t play into my decision. It came down to the fact that I like the school.”
