He's the best player this town has ever produced.
Now, she just might be the best pure shooter ever from our region.
Something had to give.
A heated debate sparked at a June graduation party was settled the proper way two weeks ago in the final day of coach Dave Fazio's Hoop Town Basketball Camp.
The legend — 2,000-point scorer Chris Vetrano, and the phenom — Andover High junior-to-be Nicole Boudreau, hit the floor for a 3-point shooting contest to end all the talk.
"There was an awful lot of talk at D.J. (Fazio's) graduation party, and that's where it all began," said Boudreau. "I watched many of Chris' games at Andover. He was an incredible player, but ..."
Coach Fazio called it a "first in the 21-year history of the camp battle of the sexes."
In the end, it was no battle at all. The incomparable Boudreau gunned down a beaten Vetrano, 22-13, to assume her throne.
"I've never seen her in a game, but she's got an amazing stroke, you saw it out there today," said Vetrano, who went on to play at UNH and Saint Anselm.
Vetrano made a huge mistake, ignoring the "age before beauty" adage and letting Boudreau go first.
"I wanted to go first and set the mark," said Boudreau, who dominated the four-time Eagle-Tribune All-Star before about 200 campers, 30 coaches and at least a 100 or so parents watching. "I've played for titles, played in the Garden, pressure like this is nothing."
Shooting five balls from five different positions — with the last at each spot counting as two points — a possible 30 points could be had.
Boudreau, overall, drained 19 of 25 3-point jumpers, including a run of 10 in a row that had Vetrano shaken as he watched.
Vetrano never got it going, most likely because the bar had been set so high by Boudreau. The two saluted each other after, and Vetrano, still a competitor at heart, tried to salvage something from the afternoon.
Hopping into the staff "knockout championship," he might have been the favorite, but coach Fazio put a ringer in line behind Vetrano, yep Boudreau, who knocked him out in one round.
"She's a great kid, and an amazing shooter, good for her," said the classy Vetrano.
The showing was just the latest highlight in a huge summer for Boudreau.
Slowed early by a back injury — she's currently playing with a brace — Boudreau erupted on the AAU circuit, most recently taking home a title at the Division 2 Nationals in Florida.
She tossed in 39 for the New England Shooting Stars in the national title game.
Of course, the big-time schools have come calling. Boston College has already shown plenty of interest, while inquiries from the likes of Stanford and Maryland top a slew of letters she's received.
"Really right now, I'm just taking a look at what is out there," the 2010 Eagle-Tribune MVP said. "It should all get pretty serious next year."
Will Boudreau, who has 936 career points already, be gunning for Vetrano's area career mark of 2,090 points?
"Points don't really matter to me at all," she said. "We've got one state title already, and the only thing that really matters to me is winning two more."
