Northfield boys' basketball mind-set: 'Ready to win'

Northfield High School is a little more than 20 miles south of Lakeville. But in a basketball sense, it might as well be a world away for Northfield boys' coach Andy Berkvam.

A year ago, Berkvam ended a 23-season run coaching girls' basketball in Lakeville — first at Lakeville High School, then at Lakeville North after the split. He built one of the state's premier girls' programs, won three state championships and won more than 400 games.

In his first year coaching the Raiders' boys in 2013-14, Northfield won seven times.

For Berkvam, Northfield offers the challenge of rebuilding his alma mater. His father previously coached at Northfield. Berkvam played in the program as well, graduating in 1981.

While year one was a 19-loss struggle, this year could be completely different, Berkvam said. Northfield's success rate might be a far cry from what Berkvam built in Lakeville but he said his team is "very close to turning a corner."

With six key returners and a lineup filled with height, athleticism and experience, Berkvam said he believes Northfield is poised for a breakout year.

"These kids, they're tired of losing," he said. "This senior class has had some great success — they made it to the section championship in football this fall — and they're ready to bring that to basketball. They want to be the ones who turn this around."

"At [Lakeville] North, those girls knew they were good players, and they expected to win every single time they stepped on the court," he said. "That mind-set wasn't here. We need to get to that place where we know we can compete with anyone."

His players already feel that beginning to change. The majority of the team played football this fall, and players feel they can replicate that success.

"It definitely gives us some momentum," senior point guard Colin Shepley said. "We kind of saw what it took from a practice standpoint to win, and we're trying to do the same thing now [in basketball]."

"Winning is contagious," said junior post Chris Antoine, an All-Metro selection in football. "Almost all of us played football, and that really changes the way we look at it all. Practices have been great so far, and we're ready for this."

Northfield opened the 2014-15 season with a 76-68 victory over Big Nine foe Rochester Mayo on Saturday, a first step in what the Raiders hope will be a run at a league title in their first year in a new conference.

Meland, Northfield's quarterback in football, said Berkvam's impact on the program has already been huge. He and his teammates hope to help bridge the gap between the coach's past success in Lakeville and what they hope is a bright future in Northfield.

"He's a great coach and a really competitive guy — he's ready to win," Meland said. "So are we."