From Taranaki towel boy to Breakers front office
More than 400 New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL) games, 100 caps for the Tall Blacks and four ANBL titles to his name. But Dillon Boucher’s first involvement in high level basketball? Wiping the floor for the Taranaki BP Bears.
‘‘I idolised those guys playing in the New Zealand national league at the time,’’ the 41-year-old says. ’’I can clearly remember the names like Jacque Tuz and Benny Anthony. Those names were probably the people that I was watching and mopping up their sweat.’’
Boucher picked up the sport in his final year at Bell Block Primary School - thanks in large part to his older brothers.
‘‘We had a hoop in the backyard that we’d battle everyday on and that’s where it all started.
‘‘I can clearly remember having to play for my older brothers’ team and being the smallest guy on the court and having to navigate my way around at a young age.’’
Boucher continued to play the sport through high school - spending his third-form year at Spotswood College in 1989 before relocating to Auckland in 1990 and attending Papatoetoe High School.
It was there that his love for the game truly developed.
‘‘The competition of being able to go against bigger, older guys and things like that was something that was really appealing to me.’’
While he enjoyed playing the sport, it was when he was selected for his first New Zealand agegroup squad, around the age of 17, he saw the potential to make a career out of it.
He went on to play for the Auckland (1994-2001) and Waikato (2001-03) franchises in the NZNBL, making his first Tall Blacks team in 2002. He was part of the squad who shocked the hoops world to claim fourth place at the World Championships.
Unlike many players who make it to professional leagues, Boucher has always been known at the top level as a less-than-impressive shooter.
Instead, he forged himself a role as a playmaker and a defensive nightmare for opponents, allowing him to play as an undersized big man at the four.
However, it wasn’t always how he played.
‘‘For me, it was just about scoring when I was younger,’’ he laughs. ’’All I wanted to do was score and as I got older I got more satisfaction out of setting other guys up. My game evolved over time into more of a distributor role and a defender.’’
He says if he hadn’t made the changes he did, he doesn’t think he’d have survived in the game.
‘‘When I look back at the other players around me, the reason I evolved my game was because I wasn’t as skilled as some of the other guys on offence.’’
Following his 2002 national team call up, Boucher became a fixture in the side until his retirement from the international level in 2008.
Among the great names he went toe-to-toe with, there were two who stood out as his toughest match ups.
‘‘Probably the toughest two opponents had to be [Dallas Mavericks and Germany power forward] Dirk Nowitzki for his sheer size and ability. I always found him really, really tough to guard.
‘‘The other was [ex-Houston Rockets and China centre] Yao Ming just for his sheer size. Just having to guard a guy who’s a foot taller than you and outweighs you by about 40kg, it’s a pretty tough assignment.’’
Much like his days growing up and playing for his brothers’ teams against bigger opponents, Boucher seemed to always be smaller than who he was matched up against.
But size didn’t matter to Boucher, he could more than hold his own on the court. The big difference for him was the skill of his opponents, which was why Nowitzki and Ming were such tough assignments.
In 2003, Boucher got the call to line up for the Breakers’ debut season in the ANBL. Boucher says he distinctly remembers the hype around the team’s first match.
‘‘We’d spent a long time building to that game and I remember in the first quarter we scored 44 points. It was a pretty amazing start to a franchise to play the way we did’’
The Breakers won that game 111-110 and from there, Boucher would be a fixture in the team for the next two years, before playing with the Perth Wildcats (2005-2006) and Brisbane Bullets (2006-2008), then returning to the Breakers to win three straight titles from 2011-2013.
Following the 2013 title, Boucher retired from the ANBL. His No 24 jersey was retired by the Breakers later that year.
While he still plays in the NZNBL, with his 400-plus appearances the most ever in the league, Boucher reflects on his career as ‘‘a good ride’’.
After his retirement, he eyed a move into either coaching or management with the franchise. In 2016, he was named general manager.
‘‘I have four children so I thought the smarter route for me was to go down the commercial route.
‘‘The coaching pathway’s not a very stable environment - it’s all good when you’re winning but when you don’t have success it can be a pretty rocky job.
‘‘It’s all worked out. Here I am as GM now and loving every minute of it.’’ At a glance NZ Breakers v Melbourne United, Tuesday 19 September, TSB Stadium, New Plymouth. 7pm tip-off. Tickets: Adult $30. Child (11 and under) $15. Family (2 adults and 2 children) $80. Student $20 (+ service fees).