Beavers' star duo of Dalton Albrecht, John Sutherland set for one final ride together
Feb. 28—It may be that Dalton Albrecht and John Sutherland were always meant to end up playing together. But it certainly took some time for it to come to fruition.
Albrecht joined the Bemidji State men's basketball team from the class of 2019 out of Grafton, N.D. Sutherland hailed from the class of 2020 but committed to Minnesota Duluth out of Grand Rapids High School.
Both played sparingly during the 2020-21 season. But once they joined forces in 2021 after Sutherland's transfer to BSU, the seeds were planted for a bountiful yield in the coming years.
"I remember playing against him a little bit," Albrecht said. "(During 2020-21), we kind of battled a little bit when we both weren't getting too many minutes. But when he committed, I didn't really know who he was that much. They were pretty high on him when he was coming in, thought he could be pretty good. He turned out to be really good."
Sutherland joined the Beavers knowing he and Albrecht would wait their turn behind Bemidji State legend Derek Thompson, who holds the BSU men's basketball single-game scoring (45 points) and career rebounding (723) records. The two bided their time and soaked up all the knowledge they could glean from Thompson.
"He was a really great player," Sutherland recalled. "He could play inside and out. I learned some of (his) post moves. He was super good inside. Dalton got more of his shooting, probably. So he was a pretty good role model for us."
Sutherland and Albrecht also got to know each other, forming the nascent stages of the bond that has powered their on-court partnership for the past two years.
"I didn't really know him before (I got here)," Sutherland said. "My first year here, I didn't know him that well either. I mean, I was kind of quiet. He was kind of quiet my first year here. And then last year, we became pretty good friends. And this year, we've gotten really close, and his game complements my game really well. I drive in, and he likes to shoot 3s. So we play great together."
Albrecht and Sutherland are roommates when the Beavers travel for road games, and their chemistry has keyed Bemidji State's success over the last two seasons. With the duo leading from the inside out, Bemidji State reached the NSIC semifinals in 2023, the first time BSU had done so in 10 seasons. The Beavers also won 20 games during the 2022-23 season, marking just the third time in school history that feat had been accomplished.
"Dalton's come a long way over the years," said BSU head coach Mike Boschee. "He's come from someone that wasn't probably good enough to play at this level as a freshman to being one of the top players in the league. So he's made a huge impact with his growth and what he can do from the inside and the outside.
"John, his first year here, he started for us but wasn't that impactful. But the last two years for him, he's played at a really high level offensively and certainly been a big boost to our level of play."
Both players have collected numerous accolades throughout their careers. In just the 2023-24 season alone, Albrecht was named the Division II Player of the Week on Feb. 13 and has won NSIC Player of the Week twice. He ranks third in D-II this season with 280 rebounds.
Sutherland has garnered one NSIC Player of the Week nod this year and was named to the All-NSIC First Team in 2022-23.
Albrecht will depart from BSU after this season, his fifth in the program. Though he doesn't have to quit — he still has a sixth year of eligibility because of the COVID-impacted 2020-21 season — he senses that it's time for him to move on.
"I don't really have any more school left, and then basketball is such a commitment," Albrecht said. "I'm kind of ready to be done. It's so much time to be put into basketball. I think I'm ready to move on and start something else in the next chapter."
Sutherland enjoys playing alongside his frontcourt running mate, but as the end of their partnership nears, he's preparing himself for a future without Albrecht.
"I'll miss him a lot next year," he said. "We've been doing so well together, so hopefully we can find someone like him. But that will be super hard to do."
Yet to hear Albrecht tell it, Sutherland is poised to flourish as the Beavers' offensive fulcrum. After all, he's done it a lot already — with and without Albrecht on the floor.
"He makes it easier on me, he takes a lot of attention off of me, because he always has the ball," Albrecht said. "Everyone's always looking at him, because they know what he can do. I'm able to play a little more freely without 10 eyes always looking at me. They're usually always looking at him. He does a good job of finding me."
The Beavers have one more run with their twin forwards in tow this week at the NSIC Tournament. They'll face Sioux Falls, a team they are 2-0 against this season, in a road matchup at 6 p.m. on Wednesday. BSU defeated the Cougars 75-74 on Jan. 6 in Sioux Falls and swept the regular-season series with a 76-69 victory on Feb. 16 at the BSU Gymnasium.
Albrecht and Sutherland know their remaining time as a tandem is short, so they're committed to maximizing what's left of it.
"We've beaten them twice already, so they're obviously going to come with a new game plan," Sutherland said of Sioux Falls. "It's always hard to beat a team three times, but I feel pretty confident in our ability to win again. We've got to go there and beat them in their house, so that always makes it hard too, but we're confident."
