Nipmuc names new boys basketball coach and he's a familiar face in the area

Jason Gosselin aimed at a seat on the Douglas boys basketball coaching bench.

After stepping down as Framingham's boys varsity coach in May, he was content to coach closer to home in Sutton at his alma mater with his brother Chad Gosselin. His nephew Isaac Gosselin is a senior, as well.

"I wasn’t looking to jump back into a head position right away," Jason Gosselin said. "I was looking forward to sharing the bench with my brother and my nephew."

Then the Nipmuc boys basketball head coaching position opened up.

"I couldn’t not apply for it," Gosselin said. "Four miles from my house in Sutton. Good program with some talent, established youth program, very exciting."

Nipmuc announced Gosselin as its new boys basketball coach on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Monday.

"Jason comes with a wealth of experience," Nipmuc athletic director Chris Schmidt wrote on X.

That experience has come both as a player in the Dual Valley Conference and coaching basketball. Gosselin played in the league at Douglas then progressed to a college career at Worcester State.

"I'm a Blackstone Valley kid," he said. "The opportunity to coach in the league I played in in high school was obviously a great opportunity to pursue."

He led the Flyers for six years and spent just over a decade in the Framingham program before parting ways in May after a 3-17 season. Framingham made two state tournament appearances under Gosselin and reached the 2019 Central Mass. Division 1 quarterfinals.

"Any time you’re running a program, hopefully that all translates. The great thing about my experience at Framingham is I coached all three levels," Gosselin said. "Being able to coach at all three levels lends itself to being able to relate to a kid regardless of what team they’re on, what role they might play. I’m looking forward to that."

Gosselin is taking over for Paul King, who started at Nipmuc in 2018. The Warriors went 12-9 a year ago and made the Division 4 state tournament. They also reached the postseason in 2020.

"Can’t overstate my excitement about being a part of the Nipmuc community. Easy to see they love their hoops!" Gosselin wrote on X. "Can’t wait to get in the gym (with) our group (and) build towards something special."

The Warriors only graduated four seniors. Junior James McKinney tied for the DVC league scoring crown, netting 15.5 points per game and earning a Daily News All-Star nod after receiving all-league honors.

"I love the group they have returning. It lends itself to playing a fast pace. I love teams that get after it on the defensive side of the floor. I fancy myself as having a group that’s going to be the harder working team," Gosselin said. "Offense comes out of that. I look forward to working with the pieces we have and forging an identity that means we're going to make teams work to beat us."

One of those teams will be his alma mater. Nipmuc will open DVC play at Douglas this winter. Gosselin was always planning on being on the bench for that game, he'll now just be on the opposite sideline.

Contact Kyle Grabowski at kgrabowski@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @kylegrbwsk. 

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Jason Gosselin hired as Nipmuc boys basketball coach