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Logan DeMarzo received a text message from his older brother, Derek, on Saturday afternoon telling him to look at Kayshon Boutte’s Instagram story.
Boutte, a New England Patriots wide receiver, posted on social media that he would be at King Street Memorial Park in Franklin to play some pickup basketball and football that day.
So, DeMarzo drove 20 miles south from his family’s home in Upton to see what all the fuss was about.
“I knew I had to pull up,” DeMarzo told the T&G on Tuesday.
On Saturday, and then again on Sunday, DeMarzo played in 5-on-5 outdoor basketball games against the Pats’ WR — and alongside his brother.
At one point, DeMarzo, who graduated from Nipmuc Regional High School in 2025 and played basketball, football and volleyball for the Warriors, guarded Boutte on the court and scored a few times on the professional athlete.
“I was a little intimidated at first,” DeMarzo said. “I was worried he’d be able to score on me easily. I would say I held my own. He got a few buckets on me, and I did end up scoring a few buckets on him. There was one time he stole it from me easily, and it felt like I was driving into a brick wall.
“It was definitely cool.”
In 2024, DeMarzo caught 32 passes for 614 yards and 6 touchdowns during his senior season with the Nipmuc football team. In his team’s final game that year, the 6-foot-3, 170-pound wide receiver caught 8 passes for 172 yards and 3 TDs.
“That was my legacy game,” DeMarzo said.
As a senior on the Nipmuc basketball team, DeMarzo averaged 12.6 points per game and made over 100 baskets and helped the Warriors go 14-8 and win a MIAA tournament game over Auburn thanks to his 15-point, 10-rebound performance.
DeMarzo was also named a Dual Valley Conference All-Star for volleyball during his junior and senior seasons.
“Logan is a high flying, energizer bunny, human pogo stick of a middle hitter that took over multiple matches and had many jaw-dropping kills,” Nipmuc volleyball coach Brian Gerard told the T&G in 2024.
So, for someone who played three sports in high school, and plans to play basketball at Quinsigamond Community College next school year, what was it like guarding an NFL player on the basketball court this past weekend?
“The natural athletic part of it, he obviously has,” DeMarzo, 19, said. “He can shoot a little bit and dribble and finish. I could tell he’s more of a football player. He was just one of us, but is just way quicker and stronger.
“The thing I kept thinking to myself was this guy was just in the Super Bowl and now I’m guarding him in a game of pickup (basketball).”
For Boutte, who was a 2023 sixth-round draft pick out of LSU and caught 33 passes for 551 yards and 6 TDs for a Patriots team that reached the Super Bowl last season, getting the chance to spend some time with people from his community was fun.
“Just a friendly gathering. It’s like friends in the neighborhood, friends you grew up with y’all come to the park, play out front,” Boutte told WBZ-TV on Saturday. “I think the kids enjoyed it; they are excited about it.”
Boutte spent parts of Friday, Saturday and Sunday playing pickup sports in Franklin before signing autographs and taking photos with people who came to King Street Memorial Park.
“Enjoying myself in the community,” Boutte told Dan Roche of WBZ on Sunday. “… We having fun, it’s good runs.”
Derek DeMarzo, a former football quarterback at Nipmuc Regional and Middlesex School, got to throw a few passes to Boutte before playing him in hoops.
“Definitely never thought I’d get the opportunity to throw to an active, professional receiver,” said DeMarzo, who is now the Nipmuc boys’ JV basketball coach. “… It was one of my best throws of the day. I kept it pretty tight and hit him right on the facemask and luckily got a video of it.”
On Tuesday, Boutte showed up to Day 1 of Patriots’ mandatory minicamp in Foxborough. Despite rumors that the Patriots wide receiver may skip the sessions due to trade talks surrounding his name following New England’s acquisition of A.J. Brown, Boutte squashed any of that speculation on Sunday.
“I want to be in New England for the rest of my career,” Boutte told Roche. “… I call this home. This is my new home.”
And Logan DeMarzo and his brother, Derek, spent two days playing sports with the Patriots wide receiver less than 30 minutes away from their childhood home.
It was a cool adventure for the two siblings from Upton.
“It was definitely a unique experience,” DeMarzo said. “I don’t think I’ll be ever to experience something like that again.”
—Contact Tommy Cassell at [email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @tommycassell44.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Upton's Logan DeMarzo plays pickup hoops with Pats WR Kayshon Boutte
Continue reading...
Boutte, a New England Patriots wide receiver, posted on social media that he would be at King Street Memorial Park in Franklin to play some pickup basketball and football that day.
So, DeMarzo drove 20 miles south from his family’s home in Upton to see what all the fuss was about.
“I knew I had to pull up,” DeMarzo told the T&G on Tuesday.
On Saturday, and then again on Sunday, DeMarzo played in 5-on-5 outdoor basketball games against the Pats’ WR — and alongside his brother.
At one point, DeMarzo, who graduated from Nipmuc Regional High School in 2025 and played basketball, football and volleyball for the Warriors, guarded Boutte on the court and scored a few times on the professional athlete.
“I was a little intimidated at first,” DeMarzo said. “I was worried he’d be able to score on me easily. I would say I held my own. He got a few buckets on me, and I did end up scoring a few buckets on him. There was one time he stole it from me easily, and it felt like I was driving into a brick wall.
“It was definitely cool.”
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In 2024, DeMarzo caught 32 passes for 614 yards and 6 touchdowns during his senior season with the Nipmuc football team. In his team’s final game that year, the 6-foot-3, 170-pound wide receiver caught 8 passes for 172 yards and 3 TDs.
“That was my legacy game,” DeMarzo said.
As a senior on the Nipmuc basketball team, DeMarzo averaged 12.6 points per game and made over 100 baskets and helped the Warriors go 14-8 and win a MIAA tournament game over Auburn thanks to his 15-point, 10-rebound performance.
DeMarzo was also named a Dual Valley Conference All-Star for volleyball during his junior and senior seasons.
“Logan is a high flying, energizer bunny, human pogo stick of a middle hitter that took over multiple matches and had many jaw-dropping kills,” Nipmuc volleyball coach Brian Gerard told the T&G in 2024.
So, for someone who played three sports in high school, and plans to play basketball at Quinsigamond Community College next school year, what was it like guarding an NFL player on the basketball court this past weekend?
“The natural athletic part of it, he obviously has,” DeMarzo, 19, said. “He can shoot a little bit and dribble and finish. I could tell he’s more of a football player. He was just one of us, but is just way quicker and stronger.
“The thing I kept thinking to myself was this guy was just in the Super Bowl and now I’m guarding him in a game of pickup (basketball).”
You must be registered for see images attach
For Boutte, who was a 2023 sixth-round draft pick out of LSU and caught 33 passes for 551 yards and 6 TDs for a Patriots team that reached the Super Bowl last season, getting the chance to spend some time with people from his community was fun.
“Just a friendly gathering. It’s like friends in the neighborhood, friends you grew up with y’all come to the park, play out front,” Boutte told WBZ-TV on Saturday. “I think the kids enjoyed it; they are excited about it.”
Boutte spent parts of Friday, Saturday and Sunday playing pickup sports in Franklin before signing autographs and taking photos with people who came to King Street Memorial Park.
“Enjoying myself in the community,” Boutte told Dan Roche of WBZ on Sunday. “… We having fun, it’s good runs.”
You must be registered for see images attach
Derek DeMarzo, a former football quarterback at Nipmuc Regional and Middlesex School, got to throw a few passes to Boutte before playing him in hoops.
“Definitely never thought I’d get the opportunity to throw to an active, professional receiver,” said DeMarzo, who is now the Nipmuc boys’ JV basketball coach. “… It was one of my best throws of the day. I kept it pretty tight and hit him right on the facemask and luckily got a video of it.”
On Tuesday, Boutte showed up to Day 1 of Patriots’ mandatory minicamp in Foxborough. Despite rumors that the Patriots wide receiver may skip the sessions due to trade talks surrounding his name following New England’s acquisition of A.J. Brown, Boutte squashed any of that speculation on Sunday.
“I want to be in New England for the rest of my career,” Boutte told Roche. “… I call this home. This is my new home.”
And Logan DeMarzo and his brother, Derek, spent two days playing sports with the Patriots wide receiver less than 30 minutes away from their childhood home.
It was a cool adventure for the two siblings from Upton.
“It was definitely a unique experience,” DeMarzo said. “I don’t think I’ll be ever to experience something like that again.”
—Contact Tommy Cassell at [email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @tommycassell44.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Upton's Logan DeMarzo plays pickup hoops with Pats WR Kayshon Boutte
Continue reading...
