James Bouknight had a good feeling about UConn when his official visit ended last weekend.

"It was great," Bouknight said during a phone conversation Tuesday. "I was super comfortable. It just felt like a family."

A 6-foot-4 guard from the MacDuffie School in Granby, Mass., Bouknight made it official on Tuesday, announcing his commitment to the UConn basketball program.

Bouknight is the first recruit in the Class of 2019 to pick the Huskies. Indiana, Miami, Temple, Virginia Tech and Virginia Commonwealth University also were on his list.

MacDuffie coach Jacque Rivera says the sky is the limit for Bouknight, who's considered a top 100 recruit.

"The best way to describe him is all-around and dynamic," Rivera said. "Oftentimes you have a guy who can shoot but they don't have the athletic ability that he has. Or a guy can play above the rim and is a great athlete and can run and jump but he doesn't shoot it particularly great.

"James is very fortunate to be able to dribble, pass, shoot. While he has a plethora of areas that he needs to continue to grow, he does all of those things well right now."

Rivera said there is another thing that stands out about Bouknight.

"One thing that is very impressive about James, very similar to Kris Dunn when he was at Providence, he rebounds the ball extremely well from the guard position," Rivera said. "And if you have a guard who can rebound at a high level, you can start your break earlier and get some easy offense... Kemba (Walker) did a good job rebounding from the guard position and starting the break and skipping the outlet.

"So I think (James) has some added things to his game that people don't realize. He's also a very good passer."

Bouknight had double reason to celebrate on Tuesday, as it also is his 18th birthday.

Several factors helped sell Bouknight on UConn, which he also visited unofficially in June.

The UConn coaching staff made a strong impression on him. Dan Hurley and his three assistants showed up at MacDuffie School on the first day of the fall recruiting period on Sept. 9.

Bouknight mentioned Hurley's ability to develop players. He also forged a tight relationship with assistant coach Kimani Young, who began recruiting the guard while serving as an assistant at Minnesota. Bouknight, who's from Brooklyn, and Young are both from New York.

"He recruited me extremely hard," Bouknight said. "I built a good relationship with him. He's just a great guy. I have a lot of faith and trust in him."

He also appreciated that UConn kept recruiting him after suffering a torn meniscus in his left knee in January. Now healthy, Bouknight had a productive summer playing for the PSA Cardinals in AAU tournaments.

During his visit to Storrs, Bouknight came away impressed with the four national championship banners and pictures of Huskies in the NBA that hang from the Werth Family UConn Basketball Champions Center practice facility walls. He called the display "stunning."

He hopes to help the Huskies return to an elite status.

"UConn has a great history and a winning tradition," Bouknight said. "They've been in a little bit of a slump. I'm looking forward to getting UConn back. ... One day I hope to be on the wall. It's something that I dream about."

Bouknight also enjoyed hanging out with UConn guard Jalen Adams.

"He's so humble," Bouknight said. "He's a great player. We just clicked. He's like a brother."

With the hectic recruiting period over for Bouknight, he'll focus on working on his game while playing for what's expected to be a strong MacDuffie team.

Rivera says there's more to Bouknight than his all-around skills and his great smile.

"He's a great kid...," Rivera said. "To give you a little tidbit into who he is, a year ago to this day he was folding clothes and packing a box of his items to ship to victims of the hurricane in Houston. He's very selfless."

The recruiting season continues for the Huskies. Jalen Gaffney, a 6-2 guard attending Westtown (Pa.) School, is expected to visit UConn this weekend.

g.keefe@theday.com