Q&A: Aggie basketball alumni Danny Berger, Preston Medlin and Spencer Butterfield

The Utah Statesman had the opportunity to catch up with former USU basketball stars Danny Berger, Preston Medlin and Spencer Butterfield at the 2025 Mountain West Basketball Championship in Las Vegas.

Danny Berger played 64 games with the Aggies from 2011-14 and averaged 5.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists. He played professionally with Erdgas Ehingen in Germany.

Preston Medlin was a four-year Aggie from 2009-14, averaging 12.8 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists. He played professionally in Latvia, Greece and Germany.

Spencer Butterfield played the last two years of his college career with Utah State and averaged 12.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists. He spent time in Spain, Lithuania, France, Germany and Italy throughout his 10-year professional career.

The conversation with the three Aggie greats explored what it’s like to play in March, each of their professional careers and what they expect to see in Utah State’s upcoming matchup against UNLV.

Q: I did some research on how you guys did during the month of March. Here’s what I found. Berger as an Aggie averaged six points per game and shot 45% from the field, 52% from three and 86% from the free throw line. He was also on the All-Tournament Team with the PacWest while playing at BYU-Hawaii. Medlin averaged 13 points with 45/34/86 splits and had two games with 26 points and a game with 24 points. Butterfield averaged 14 points with 48/47/91 splits, having two of his best performances in March with 22 and 20-point showings. What was your guys’ approach and mindset coming into March? Did [former head coach] Stew Morrill do anything to prepare you guys?

Medlin: Coach Morrill was really big about always having kind of three seasons. You have your preseason, you have your conference play and you have your postseason, and I feel like the postseason is ultimately why all of us really like playing college basketball. The best thing about college is March, right? So, it was always a different mindset because it’s the end of the season, and so you’re like, “This season’s getting long.” There’s a lot of stuff going on, but also this is the best time. You got to remember to enjoy it and have a good time.

Berger: It’s interesting in college basketball. You can have a pretty mediocre year until March, and then if you go on a run, it’s a huge success for your team, for your school, for the year. You could be .500 and then win your conference tournament, get to the NCAA tournament, maybe win a game. It’s like you had the greatest year and turned the whole season around in a couple weeks. So, that’s what makes it special. You see these teams that are on these runs, and they totally flip the script on their season.

Butterfield: I feel like you always have a chance. Every team feels like they have a chance in March. That’s why you play basketball. I also think by the time you get to March, you kind of know your role on the team. You know what coach expects of you, and so if you accept that and embrace that by March, that’s when you can play your best basketball. I think that’s why all three of us probably have really good numbers in March — because by then we knew what Stew wanted out of us.

USU alumni basketball player Danny Berger smiles while listening to former teammate Spencer Butterfield during a group interview at the Embassy Suites hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 13. (Kelly Winter/The Utah Statesman)

Q: Even when you got to the pros and March was no longer the end of the season, was there some sort of internal clock with you guys where March hits and you still feel this urgency to step up your play?

Berger: I think we still get that. If you watch the tournament, it’s like, “Alright, I’m ready to go.”

Butterfield: Your energy naturally picks up. I will say that’s actually exciting. When you’re overseas playing, you start watching [the NCAA tournament]. You kind of reminisce like, “Man, I used to love it. I was good then,” and then it gives you energy for your pro season too. You’re just like, “I’m just going to be like I was in college.”

Q: I also wanted to talk about the time you guys were all with Utah State because it was an interesting transition period, and the team now is about to go through the same thing. You guys moved from the WAC to the Mountain West in 2013. How was that transition? Were there any growing pains with that, and do you expect similar growing pains or adjustments as the team now moves to the PAC-12?

Berger: Our team had some injuries which kind of hurt the transition a little bit, and it was tough. There’s going to be better teams in the PAC-12 with better teams from the Mountain West.

Butterfield: Yeah, I think our transition was big. We did really well in the WAC for years, and we were on our way to do really well my junior year, but we had some really devastating, like season-ending injuries with three of our starters [Berger and Medlin included]. So, that really altered the season, and then you’re getting ready to go into the Mountain West the following year. It’s a step up, and I think you have to adjust to that step up. I think we’ll be better at transitioning into the PAC than we were transitioning from the WAC.

Medlin: I feel like one of the hardest things too is you kind of get used to the teams you’re playing. I played in the WAC, and coach Morrill was in the WAC for 10 years prior, and you kind of learn the schools. You learn to travel. You get a feel, and then you switch to a new conference. That first, when we went to New Mexico or San Diego State, UNLV — that was the first time we had ever been to that school. Different arenas, different environments, all those things were a little tough. I think it’s nice that the school will have some of those teams going from the Mountain West to the PAC-12, but there will definitely be some learning and growing pains.

Berger: I think you’ll see guys rise to the occasion too. There’s guys who are going to step up and be like, “Okay, I can thrive at this level.” Maybe guys you wouldn’t expect it from, but they just kind of say, “I’m just going to go ball out at the end of the day.” Just go play.

USU alumni basketball player Preston Medlin talks during a group interview with The Utah Statesman sports writer Carson Frost in the lobby of the Embassy Suites hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 13. (Kelly Winter/The Utah Statesman)

Q: It’s kind of interesting too, because the PAC-12 schools like Gonzaga, Washington State and Oregon State are schools that are particularly passionate about basketball. Basketball is kind of the leading sport at those schools. It could put the team in more hostile environments with passionate fans and also give USU more exposure nationally because these are nationally known basketball programs.

Berger: That’s what you want as a player though.

Medlin: 100% I think that’s what’s exciting about it from a fan’s standpoint too. Now that we’re all fans, I think we want to see our Aggies play the best — see if we can compete — and I think we will.

Butterfield: They all have to play the Aggies now too, right? So, for them it’s an adjustment.

Q: I figured out through my research that Preston and Danny played together in the same league in Germany but on different teams. How was being in the same league and being around each other but also having to be competitors on different teams?

Medlin: I think it was awesome that we lived so close. I think for both of us, when you’re in Europe, you’re in a different place. Everything is foreign, and so having some familiarity and a great friend being there close was awesome. When it comes to playing against each other, it’s kind of hard because when you’re not playing them, you’re like, “Oh, I want them to win. I want them to be successful.” When you come to the court, you’re torn because of course, I want to win, right? So, you have that competitive nature, and it was super fun.

Berger: I was pretty lonely, but just having Preston and his wife and being able to hang out with them was fantastic. I think [Medlin’s team] beat us pretty good one time, and then I think we beat them one time when I had a bonus on the line. He was hoping I was going to win that game.

Medlin: Yeah, I remember that.

Q: Spencer, I watched you play for the Jazz in the NBA Summer League in Utah for a couple of years, and you were always one of the best 3-point shooters in the league. I was also there for Donovan Mitchell’s first ever game as a rookie, and you were his teammate. What was it like seeing him up close?

Butterfield: I didn’t know much about him, even when he was drafted. I think he was kind of a sleeper. I don’t think anybody knew how good he was going to be. First practice, I was like, “This guy’s athletic.” He’d dunk on everybody. He’s actually not that tall either. He’s my height. I was like, “Oh dang, he’s pretty good.” What was nice is he was really cool to me. When we went to meals and stuff, we always sat by each other. He really liked playing with me because I was a shooter, so I could space the floor for him. I feel like he always looked for me on the court.

USU alumni basketball player Spencer Butterfield answers a question during a group interview in the lobby of the Embassy Suites hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 13. (Kelly Winter/The Utah Statesman)

Q: Now let’s talk about this year’s team. Later tonight, we have Utah State versus UNLV. Utah State obviously did very well in conference play this year, but one of their losses was to UNLV. It is important to note UNLV has lost multiple players since then due to injury, but what are some things you guys will be looking for tonight?

Medlin: I think the biggest thing that I’ll notice when I’m watching tonight — and you’ll notice it pretty fast — is how confident are they? I think it can be a little bit scary to play a team in the tournament on their home court. We lost to them already this year. So obviously, I think Utah State is a better team, and I think if they come out playing confident — they’re not playing timid and scared — that’s going to be the biggest factor of them winning. Can we execute? Can we play with confidence? Can we make the right plays? That’s ultimately what it’s going to come down to, and we will know pretty fast if they’re playing confident or not tonight.

Butterfield: Along with the confidence, we just got to be aggressive. When we come out playing aggressive, like, “We’re doing this,” we have this killer mentality, which I think is very important to a basketball player and as a team. If we can harness that, we’ll do well tonight.

Berger: No matter how depleted they are, you have to respect every opponent in March because someone can get hot, and you never know. So, you can’t take anyone lightly. Coming out with that aggression but respecting your opponent — I think there’s a balance there for sure.