Former Peabody star Bettencourt new Endicott hoop coach

BEVERLY – Former Peabody High basketball star Kevin Bettencourt has been named the seventh men?s basketball coach at Endicott College.Bettencourt, who played college ball at Bucknell in Pittsburgh, graduating in 2006, has served as an assistant at Bentley for the past six seasons.?I am very excited about the opportunity to be the next head coach of the Endicott men?s basketball program,” said Bettencourt. “It is a privilege to have been selected out of a group of talented coaches that applied for this highly-sought-after position. Endicott truly is a special place and I am lucky to now be a part of this community.”Bettencourt takes over a program that has won five Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) titles since joining the league in 1999, along with five NCAA Division III Tournament appearances.While Bettencourt was at Bentley, the Falcons made three straight NCAA Division II Tournament Regional Finals appearances from 2009-11, including a 2010 run that resulted in an East Regional Championship and National Semifinals berth.Bettencourt was a four-year letterman and two-time captain at Bucknell, a Division 1 program.Prior to coaching at Bentley, Bettencourt assisted for one year at Salem State.Between his six seasons at Bentley from 2008-14 and one season prior at Salem State, Bettencourt?s teams were a cumulative 141-67 (.678) with three regular-season conference championships, two conference playoff titles, and four NCAA Tournament appearances between the two schools.At Bentley, he coached eight Northeast-10 All-Conference players, including two-time All-American and 2010 NCAA Division II National Player of the Year Jason Westrol.At Bentley, he helped emphasize the value of a high academic standing with the Falcons owning a 3.2 GPA for the 2013-14 season. Bettencourt coordinated off-season strength and conditioning programs and was a resource for the coaching staff by preparing and presenting detailed opponent scouting reports.?(The previous head coaches I worked for) taught me about basketball and how to run a successful program,” Bettencourt said. “I plan to bring those guiding principles to Endicott and run the team in a similar way by surrounding myself with good players and coaches to represent the institution to the best of my ability.?It didn?t take long to realize that Endicott is a department on the rise,” he said. “The coaches have been successful and built strong programs and I look forward to working with them and learning from them in order to bring men?s basketball to a position of dominance.”Endicott is coming off five seasons with veteran Phil Rowe at the helm. Rowe led the Blue and Green to a CCC Championship and NCAA Tournament automatic berth in 2012.At Peabody, Bettencourt scored 1,810 points. At Bucknell, he was named Patriot League Rookie of the Year in 2003, a three-time Second Team All-Patriot League selection, and NCAA Chevrolet Player of the Game in NCAA Division I Tournament wins over Kansas (2005) and Arkansas (2006). Bettencourt ended his career for the Bison with 1,577 points (fifth all-time), scoring 56 percent of his points from beyond the arc with 294 three-pointers (second all-time).