Blunt feedback is often inevitable for any coach’s son … and Bertemes is no exception.
“Playing for my dad is good in the sense that I always know what’s going on,” said Bertemes, the son of Trojans coach and former Wittenberg standout PJ Bertemes.
“It’s bad in the sense that if you have a bad practice or game and go home, you’re not going to escape your coach. He’s going to tell you about it.”
To both father’s and son’s relief, ugly games are a rarity for the 5-foot-8 guard, who’s averaging 15.5 points and 6.0 assists for Southeastern (3-3 overall, 1-3 in the Ohio Heritage Conference).
Bertemes tallied a career-high 22 points, eight assists and a handful of steals in Friday’s 52-33 win over Northeastern, buying himself welcome breathing room.
“Dad’s a little more comfortable with me now,” Bertemes said. “He trusts me more. If I make a mistake, he knows I’ll fix it. He’s not on my back all the time.”
The elder Bertemes agreed. “We’re pretty good now about getting in the car after practice or a game and moving on,” he said with a grin.
Sporting a soft shot and a heady sense of poise, Bertemes makes the game appear effortless. More impressive than his on-court calm is his disciplined, off-court routine.
The longtime AAU gym rat rises at 5:30 a.m. on school days and is shooting solo inside the Trojans’ gym by 6:45. He has an hour-long practice in the bag before most classmates step off bus.
“It’s a big advantage to start the day like that,” Bertemes said. “It comes from having grown up seeing my dad in the gym, coaching all these different players with different demeanors and attitudes.
“I just set a goal that I wanted to be really good. I knew that something had to give. I chose to devote most of my free time to getting better.”
The hard work isn’t lost on PJ, who appreciates the growing maturity he sees in his son.
“I’ve been coaching long enough now to know that once a kid takes ownership in his own improvement, there are usually really good things to come,” said Bertemes, who’s in his eighth season at Southeastern after a decade at nearby Cedarville.
“He’s grown up playing AAU with a lot of talented kids – like (Darius) Harper at Springfield. He doesn’t need me anymore to tell him to practice or do this or that. He’s taken that on himself now. It means something to him.”
Bertemes joins seniors Bryant Banion and James South as the squad’s only returning starters. Seven of 10 players are back next season.
“Jake is phenomenal,” said South, a 6-foot-3 forward who got off to a late start after fracturing his wrist in football. “I have all the trust in the world in my team.
“We’re going to start stringing some wins together real soon. The strong suit of this team is that we never give up. We’ll play to the last second.”
Fourteen of 19 players in the program are freshmen or sophomores, making seniors like South key.
“James is a real hard-working kid – a leader,” said PJ Bertemes, a 1992 Wittenberg grad who played for both Larry Hunter and Dan Hipsher.
“We don’t have another 6-3 kid who’s long, can guard big and little and score. We’re a small school. We don’t have a whole bunch of those guys. He’s critical to what we do.”
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