Poulin dominant force inside
The Red Eddies senior is the center of attention in their first season in the KVAC.
AUBURN – It may seem that Kenny Poulin’s ascension into a select realm of KVAC players occurred overnight.
But a National Honor Society student with a vast repertoire of what his coach describes as Kevin McHale type moves in the post isn’t going to wait until his senior season to make people notice him.
The 6-foot-3 center gave Edward Little fans a taste of what was to come during the Eddies’ final Western A basketball victory, coming off the bench to score 11 points in the second half of a semifinal comeback win over Portland.
“(The Portland game) was more of a stepping-stone for me, just to show people what I could do,” Poulin said.
Edward Little’s new foes in the KVAC are getting a daily dose of what Poulin can do now that he’s the focal point of the offense. He’s averaging 25 points per game and establishing himself as a defensive force.
“He’s just relentless,” said EL coach Mike Adams. “He just keeps going after it and he plays smart.”
Poulin’s smarts serve him well in the low post. While the high school game produces more and more face-up, perimeter-hovering centers, Poulin has carved himself a niche on the blocks.
“It’s a rarity to see kids who want to play in the low post. He always establishes the low post first and gets something going that way. Then he can step out. We had a Christmas tournament game where he hit three 3s,” Adams said.
The lean, long-armed senior has always been most comfortable down low.
“If you’re (established) in the low post, you can learn how to step out and do other things,” Poulin said. “I’ve been accustomed to the low post my whole life. The high post, low post, I’ve always been comfortable there. I feel a little more uncomfortable when I have to step out a little bit.”
The aforementioned McHale looked like he could score in the low post in his sleep, so natural his movement despite some unconventional moves. Poulin’s repertoire isn’t quite as vast, but there’s still a sense when he’s working in the post that each step is calculated, each head or shoulder fake has a purpose.
“I’ve always tried to develop a number of moves so you can throw a bunch of things at the defense,” Poulin said. “If they’re going to take away your middle, you can go baseline. If they step off you, you can turn around and shoot. You can go up-and-under. I always have all these options.
“You can’t second-guess yourself once you make your move,” he added. “If the moves not there, I’m just going to get it out to my guards and I’ll post up again.”
To Poulin, it’s all about timing, taking what the defense gives you and having the confidence to follow through once you’ve made up your mind.
Poulin made up his mind during the off-season that he wasn’t just going to inherit the starting center job he had coveted as a junior. Hard work in the gym and summer basketball taught him that confidence can take him a long way this season.
Not coincidentally, Poulin also made up his mind that the Eddies weren’t going to enter their new league meekly. Even though the nucleus is gone from a team that went to back-to-back regional finals, EL is starting to make some noise in the KVAC, having won two in a row.
“I just don’t want this to be what people have been calling it, a rebuilding year,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be a rebuilding year.”
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