Winning Assumption For Lynnfield's Arsenault

To Billy Arsenault, college basketball is four years of hard work both on and off the court. But that doesn't mean a guy can't dream.

"Yes, that's the plan," laughed Arsenault when asked if playing college basketball at Assumption meant one and done, the NBA, and millions for mom and dad.

"It's what he's been telling us all along," said his father Wayne. "We're waiting for the return."

Silliness aside, Friday at Lynnfield High School Arsenault joined with his father, his mother Susan, along with his coach and friends to celebrate signing a letter to play Division 2 college basketball at Assumption College in Worcester.

It's a reward not only for his hard work, but also the results that came from it. Arsenault finished with 1,022 points and is one of seven 1,000-plus point scorers in school history. He was named the Cape Ann League's Kinney Division Player of the Year the last two years as Lynnfield went 18-5 in his junior year, 18-4 this past season.

Staying close to home and giving his parents an opportunity to see him play was his first priority. Then it was a question of finding the right fit.

"The NE10 is a pretty tough league to play in. There are a lot of good guards in that league. I thought it would be a really good challenge," said Arsenault, who is joining an Assumption team that finished 7-20 last season. "It was such a young program and I really connected well with the coach. There was a spot for me to be a point guard to facilitate to all the bigs. It was a great chance for me to play my game. I thought it was a great opportunity."

Merrimack, Stonehill, Bridgewater State, and Gordon College were also possibilities, but the more he thought about it the more becoming a Greyhound made sense.

"It felt really good," said Arsenault. "I had one overnight there and everyone was very nice to me and it just worked out really well."

Arsenault thanked Lynnfield coach Scott MacKenzie for giving him the opportunity to earn a college scholarship.

"He was a great leader from the start. My defense improved two times by being with him. He gave me a lot of control on offense, which was really nice," said Arsenault. "We played through a system but it was a system that I worked well with and he formed it to me. Every year he had to adapt. Junior year we were so big and then the next year we were so small. He did a great job doing that. We ended up getting his best record, 17-3 this year, which was really awesome."

After that 17-3 regular season, Lynnfield beat Swampscott in the Division 3 North tournament but lost to Watertown in the quarterfinals. Lynnfield finished with 18 wins for the third straight season.

With his high school season and the NCAA tournament over, the only game left in town is the NBA playoffs. And Arsenault is paying attention.

He likes the Celtics over Philly even though, "It's weird though because I feel like [the Celtics] are playing above what they should be. The Sixers have so much talent." He thinks Golden State will win the NBA title, and says his favorite player is Kyrie Irving. "I try to model my game as much as I can after him." And if he was starting a team and had to pick between Jalen Brown and Jason Tatum, he'd pick Tatum. "Mostly because I think he can develop better and he has that portion of his game where he doesn't need to use athleticism to score."

His four years of basketball in Worcester will also include a major of marketing and business, maybe even a minor in sports management. In short, he'll be busy.

"It's just a lot of work on top of basketball so I have to figure all that out."

Photo by Bob Holmes. From L-R, Wayne Arsenault, coach Scott Mackenzie, Billy Arsenault, and Susan Arsenault. Back, members of the 2018 Lynnfield basketball team.