Former Lakeville North Basketball Player Shines Against the Golden Gophers

Former basketball standout David Berthene shined in front of his family, friends and high school coach as finished with a game-high 21 points as Bemidji State lost to the University of Minnesota 71-58 in an exhibition game at Williams Arena.

Berthene shot 8-of-15 (53.3%) shooting from the field and 5-of-11 (45.5%) from beyond the three-point arc. What made those numbers even more impressive is that this was his first game since February of 2010.

Berthene redshirted last year after he was discovered to have an allergy to sugar. The allergy caused him to drop 20 pounds from an already thin frame.

Berthene averaged 4.7 points and 1.2 rebounds per game as a freshman before sitting out the 2010-11 season.

Berthene helped lead the Panthers to a 20-6 overall record and 14-6 Lake Conference mark, finishing  second in the conference as a senior. He averaged eight points and four rebounds per game.

Patch.com caught up with Berthene, his college head coach Matt Bowen and former Lakeville North John Oxton to learn the latest on the ex-Panther star.
 
Berthene said that it was nice to be back on the court after sitting out last season.

“It was fun,” said Berthene. “It was a good atmosphere. Really good to play against these guys because these guys are something else.

Berthene missed badly on his first two shots, but sank the third, a three-pointer.

“It was a good feeling,” said Berthene. “I was pretty nervous. I hadn’t put on a jersey, for like a year and a half, so it felt pretty good. I was a little nervous. I had an air ball from the corner, which kind of woke me up a little. I settled down. I got a little confidence, so I kept pulling it. I got a rhythm going. Once you get a rhythm going, it feels pretty good.”

Bemidji head coach Matt Bowen was pleased with his sophomore’s play Monday.

“He shot the ball really well tonight and did some things,” said Bowen. “Dave has put on some weight. He has gotten stronger. He has got some good value out of his redshirt year, so I was really happy to see him play.”

Bowen thought that making a few shot gave Berthene confidence against the Gophers.

“Very much so,” said Bowen. “His first two shots were just lucky to hit the rim and I’m sure that there were a million things going through his mind because he hadn’t played in over a year, but he stepped up and hit some big shots. (Minnesota center) Ralph Sampson has really improved in the post and I though David did a good as he could to guard the hook shot and not give up second shots. I was really happy with what he was able to do.”

Lakeville North head coach John Oxton was also pleased to see his former player do well against the Gophers.

“It was awesome,” said Oxton. “Very exciting for him. A little nervous after the first couple shots when he barely drew iron, but he got on fire. There was no doubt. It was fun.”

The Northern Sun coaches poll had the Beavers finishing in seventh place in the 14-team league. However, Berthene likes what he sees from his team.

“We can be very good,” said Berthene. “If we are all invested in what we are doing and focused, we can be very, very good. We showed it tonight at times. We can definitely build of this. We made some mistakes out there, but there are some things that we can build on.”

Berthene has made strong comeback after losing weight before discovering that he was allergic to sugar. 

“I lost almost 20 pounds, so I spent a lot of time over the summer gaining it back,” said Berthene. “A lot of hard work.”

Berthene said it took time for doctors to actually figure out was wrong with him.

“It took two years, actually,” said Berthene. “It was kind of a fluke, the way they came about it. The doctor was talking to me and coming up with different ideas and we finally struck on one. Now, I am just sticking to my diet and it is working out pretty well. I am keeping my weight on.”

Bowen said that Berthene has had to make the adjustment after discovering his allergy.

“Think about how much sugar we eat,” said Bowen. “It took him 21 years of his life to figure this out by trial and error. If you remember his senior year of high school, he was anemic. He was 175 pounds at 6-9. He is probably weighting a good 210 and he knows what he can eat and what he can not eat. That has allowed to finally to get to the Dave Berthene that we know."

Berthene admits that learning a new way of eating has been tough. 

“It is pretty difficult,” said Berthene. “I eat a lot of plain foods. It is not a real exciting diet, that’s for sure. A lot of things over and over again. You got to do, what you’ve got to do. I watch what I eat a lot. I look at the ingredients and make my own stuff. I figure it out.”

Berthene started three games as a freshman, but figures to be a full-time starter this season. He is well aware of his role at Bemidji this year.

“Definitely, to be a shooter,” said Berthene. “Use my length the best way that I can, to bother my defender.”

Bowen thinks that Berthene can be a very important player for his team this season.

“Dave is that hybrid kid who makes our offense go,” said Bowen. “He still has a decent back to the basket post game, but he has got very good range, as he demonstrated tonight. You put a smaller guy on him and force him to put it on the floor, I think that he can go into the post. If you put a bigger guy on him, he obviously showed tonight, that he can step out and do some things. He provides some very good things in our screen game, that can allow us to score in a lot of different areas and create some mismatches.”

Berthene is a competitive person and admits that it was hard to sit out last season. 

“It was kind of tough at times, especially since I thought that I could help them since I played well in practice and I thought that I could add a little something,” said Berthene. “However, that is the sacrifice of being a redshirt.”

Oxton said that he talked to Berthene about having to sit out last season.

“I talked to him about it,” said Oxton. “He said that he was a little frustrated, but he also knew that it was for the best. He knew that he had to gain some weight and get a little bit stronger. I thought that he looked very comfortable on the floor tonight. I thought that his ballhandling looked pretty good for a kid that size and you are playing against Division I players. After one night, it looks like it was well worth his time to do that redshirt year.”

Berthene worked hard in the offseason to improve himself as a player.

“Definitely ballhandling,” said Berthene. “Ballhandling is a must for me. If I can take big guys off the dribble, that will be a whole different game for me, instead of just being a shooter.”

Berthene also enjoys his time at Bemidji as a student.

“I really like my degree that I am getting,” said Berthene. “I really enjoy it and I am looking forward to the future and my career.”

Bethene has many highlights of his time at Lakeville North.

“Definitely, my senior year,” said Berthene. “My whole senior year, I enjoyed it. I liked all my coaches. I liked spending time with my teammates. The whole high school experience was great.”

Oxton attended the Minnesota-Bemidji game to support his former player. Berthene said that he still keep in touch with his former coach. 

“I still contact him,” said Berthene. “I go back and if they have practice or open gym, I come visit when I can and say hi. I still try to keep in touch the best that I can.”

Berthene tries to get back to see the Panthers play, despite his busy schedule.

“I did as a redshirt because I had the weekends off,” said Berthene. “I’ll try to make some of them this year. They’ll be tough.”

Oxton think that Berthene was a good player to work with at Lakeville North.

“David is a great kid,” said Oxton. “He was one of those kids that I kept telling college coaches that when he gets to about 21, 22 years old that he is going to be great player. All he needed to do was fill out. Great shooting touch as you could see tonight. He needed to get his core strength stronger and as he has matured and grown up a little bit, you can see that definitely helps him big time.”

Berthene is hoping that his first game of the season is just the start of an outstanding year.