From homeless to Raptors hopeful
TORONTO There were nights after Chris Boucher had punched out from his job at a Montreal rotisserie restaurant that he would ride an overnight bus to sleep.
Dropping out of high school at the age of 16, Boucher floated from home to home while working as a part-time cook and dishwasher. Sometimes the bus was the best option.
Basketball? It wasn’t even in the picture.
Boucher will be back in Montreal on Wednesday with the Toronto Raptors in a remarkable full-circle moment. The road he’s travelled to get there reads like a Hallmark movie script.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been home, so obviously coming back as an NBA player feels good,” Boucher said Tuesday, before the team departed for the airport. “It’s truly a blessing to play in front of my family and friends, definitely going to enjoy the experience.”
The 25-year-old Boucher, who arrived in Montreal from St. Lucia with his mom when he was five, squeezed in some pickup basketball during his time working at the chicken restaraunt. He was offered a spot on a team for a tournament, and a couple of coaches in the crowd at the final — Igor Rwigema and Ibrahim Appiah — couldn’t help but notice the slender teen who was lighting it up with 44 points. They offered him a spot on their fledgling AAU team Alma Academy.
The years since included stops at Mexico Junior College, Northwest College in Wyoming, and finally the University of Oregon, where his best night saw him score 23 points and grab 19 rebounds — one board shy of becoming the first 20-20 Duck in almost 40 years.
Boucher’s college career was cut short in the Pac-12 tournament semis when he tore his ACL. Unaware of the severity of his injury, he finished the game. He attended the NBA combine a few weeks later to do interviews, but went undrafted.
Now the six-foot-10 Boucher is gunning for the Raptors’ open two-way roster spot, hoping to outshine Eric Moreland and Deng Adel before Nick Nurse names his regular-season roster next week. Two-way contracts allow players to play with both the Raptors and their G-League affiliate Raptors 905. Boucher was on a two-way deal with Golden State last season.
On Wednesday at Montreal’s Bell Centre, Boucher will surely see a little bit of himself in the kids in the crowd. Once facing a bleak future, Boucher hopes to show the kids they can write their own stories.
“I feel like I can show a lot of people, a lot of kids, that it’s possible to make it,” Boucher said. “A lot of people have been following me . . . so I think that’s the one good thing about this trip is that they’ll be able to see an NBA game and be able to see me, too.”
The Raptors signed the forward after a solid showing with their Summer League squad. Boucher has only appeared in one of the Raptors’ three preseason games.