Photos: Lou Rabito
By Marc Narducci
PHILADELPHIA – Westtown's Quin Berger did it the old school way.
The 6-foot-2 combo guard entered his senior season at Westtown with zero scholarship offers. While he would have liked to seen his share, Berger did the only thing he possibly could – make schools take notice.
That isn’t always easy since he was teammates with the No. 1 player in the country, Duke signee Dereck Lively and also with Penn State recruit Jameel Brown.
Yet without much preseason buildup, Berger made his own hype in an understated but effective way.
He allowed his play to do the talking and this season it spoke volumes.
While Lively and Brown were prime-time performers as seniors, Berger also joined the exclusive club.
He averaged 15 points, four rebounds and three assists while also serving as a true menace on defense.
It all helped Westtown to a 31-7 record, the Friends League championship and the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association (PAISSA) state championship.
Finally, schools began to take notice.
Westtown Senior Quin Berger will be headed to Hawk Hill next season - PSD Photo by Lou Rabito
How could they not?
On a team with big-time performers, Berger fit in comfortably.
And his success was rewarded when Saint Joseph’s offered him a scholarship. Berger accepted and he could finally exhale.
“I am stoked, so excited and it’s such a great feeling,” he said in a phone interview. “I really can’t wait.”
Berger said the decision was made a while ago, but he didn’t announce it on social media until April 20.
The biggest part in his decision was the chance to play for Saint Joseph’s head coach Billy Lange.
Before coaching at SJU, Lange was an assistant coach for seven years with the 76ers. He was known for his ability to develop young talent.
“The big thing is how much I can trust coach Lange and what he has done with developing players and I think he is really building something special there,” Berger said.
Berger will likely be a combo guard at SJU, able to handle the ball and direct the offense if needed, but is also able to play off the ball as well. One gets the impression that he would play center if called upon.
“I will do whatever the coaches need me to do,” he said.
Berger admits that the lack of offers early in his senior season was disappointing, but he said he never allowed that to affect his play.
Quin Berger #3 Westtown - Photos by Lou Rabito
“To be honest, yes it was frustrating but if I would have let it get to me, I wouldn’t be as good on the basketball court,” he said. “I knew my team needed me and whether I received offers or recognition, I had to do the best for Westtown and my teammates.”
So he stayed laser-focused on two things – getting better and helping his team win games.
Both occurred in a big way.
“This year he was certainly the most improved player I have ever had,” said veteran Westtown head coach Seth Berger, who also happens to be Quin’s father. “From September until the end of the season when he iced the game to win the state championship.”
The elder Berger was referring to the fact that his son hit both ends of a 1-and-1 with under four seconds left in Westtown’s 46-41 state title win over Perkiomen.
In that game Quin Berger scored 17 points, hitting five three-pointers.
When asked what his son improved on most this season, the answer was pretty much everything.
“This year he improved every way with the ball, as a passer, decision maker, as a shooter and an elite defender,” Seth Berger said.
Quin Berger embraces head coach, and father, Seth Berger, after winning the PAISAA State Championship - PSD Photo by Lou Rabito
What made the season more impressive is that Quin Berger, who is right-handed, played with a torn ligament in his left thumb, an injury suffered during the first game of the season.
Even though it was on his non-shooting hand, the injury was a handful to deal with.
“It was definitely bothersome the first couple of months but I got used to it,” Quin Berger said. “Coach put in sets and ways to get around using my left more and it was another bump in the road I had to get by.”
Surgery will have him out for about three months.
“He will still do skill work, trying to keep his skills sharp while recovering," Seth Berger said.
Quin Berger, an accomplished student at Westtown, says he is looking forward to major in business management.
He’s not coming into SJU ready to set the world on fire, but is taking a realistic look at the situation.
“Quin doesn’t have any expectation that he will walk in and play immediately,” his father said. “He knows he has to improve to help his team, but from Day One, he will help with the intensity and competitiveness in practice.”
2022 PAISAA CHAMPIONSHIP HIGHLIGHTS - WESTTOWN VS. PERKIOMEN SCHOOL BY JOSH ABRAMS:
Quin agrees that patience will be his best ally.
“We talked more of a long-term plan,” Quin said. “There is a lot of great talent there and I can’t wait to get there and do what I can to help the team win.”
There will be many others who have received more hype, more scholarship offers, but few have the tough interior and exterior of Berger.
Being ignored by schools for so long only made him more determined.
And finally, he made others view all he had to offer, and as his senior year demonstrated, there was a lot to see.