But there the Central Cyclones grad was on Friday night, taking the familiar court during the Ron and Jane Graham Shootout against the Lethbridge Hurricanes. The contest -- which was hosted by the Moose Jaw Spartans club basketball team -- was the first USports game in the city in recent years, and offered a perfect chance for Boughen to once again play in front of his hometown fans.
“It was pretty cool, and I hope this game continues in Moose Jaw for the next couple of years,” Boughen said shortly after the Huskies’ 75-59 win in front of close to 300 fans. “Just to see people that I used to be friends with and peers with, it’s fun to get back in Peacock and play where I used to play.”
Boughen -- a redshirt freshman who received special permission to play the exhibition contest -- saw about 10 minutes of court time through the comfortable victory. It was his first on-court experience in a USports game.
“It was really nice just to step out and get a chance to even play some defence, it was fun out there,” Boughen said. “No points, but all I can ask for is just to get on the court, especially with a team like this… Just to get that pre-game feeling, the nerves in the tummy and putting the headphones in, it’s for sure nice just to be back on the court and have those feelings I haven’t felt in a long time.”
As one might expect, things are a little bit different than when Boughen last played in his hometown..
Then a Grade 11 standout, his Cyclones were city champions and a provincial title favourite when COVID-19 cancelled the rest of the 2019-20 season and eventually the 2020-21 campaign after that.
Now, it’s a matter of getting back up to game speed and learning the game at a much, much higher level.
“It’s such a huge leap coming from high school to USports, but he’s adapted remarkably well and he’s at the stage where he’s starting to be able to play a part in our program,” said Huskies head coach Barry Rawlyk. “It’s going to take some time but he has a super-high ceiling and we’re super-excited about what the future holds for him… He’s coachable, he’s resilient and he incorporates what we teach him into his game. Given his skill set and how intelligent he is, he’s going to be a very, very good player.”
For his part, Boughen finds himself gradually adjusting to the USports level, even if it’s just in practice for now.
“Everyone on this team was good in high school and that helps us push each other,” said the 6-foot-5, 175-pound Business major. “Being a redshirt for the first year helps, it’s going to help my progression as a player so I think even though I’m not playing every day it’s nice to practice and get better every day.”
As for the game itself, the Huskies led by 10 to 15 points much of the way, until a late second-quarter surge by Lethbridge got things within a few points at half-time. A solid run to open the second half turned the tide, though, and the U of S would go on to the comfortable win.
The victory was especially important for the Huskies as they were coming off losing back-to-back games to the Unversity of Regina Cougars the previous weekend.
“It was really big for us,” Rawlyk said. “We were really disappointed in our performance and not to take anything from Regina, they’re a very good basketball team, but we didn’t play to our level and we kind of got what we deserved last weekend. So getting things turned around against a team like Lethbridge was really good for the confidence when we turn around and play Regina again in a couple of weeks.”
Those games are set to take place in Regina on Nov. 26-27.
For more information on Huskies basketball throughout the season, you can follow all of the happenings on www.huskies.usask.ca.
