Division I basketball players are as rare as they come, but a Division I player who maintains straight A’s all the way through college—that is rare indeed. Meet David Bottenberg ’16, a Millbrook alum who spent two years here lighting up the NEPSAC courts and earning the opportunity to continue playing basketball at South Carolina State, a historically Black university, on a full scholarship.

There, David spent four years working tirelessly on the court while still dominating off the court and in the classroom as a biology major. At his college graduation in 2020, he was awarded the President James E. Clark Academic Excellence Award and a gift of $5,000 for maintaining a 4.0 GPA throughout his tenure at the university. Although his time at Millbrook was not perfect, he attributes his successful approach to college work to his time spent here: “I honestly think Millbrook’s academic rigor, like mandatory study hall, built those habits. College felt easier because of it.”

In an interview with South Carolina State after graduation, David honored the support of his family—particularly his mother and girlfriend—as the source of his continued success. “My mom would give the clothes off her back to help me. She is the reason I’m in the position I’m in. She came from Nigeria. Seeing how she was able to come to America, overcome challenges, and start a family is inspirational.” About his then girlfriend and now fiancée, a fellow SCS graduate who encouraged him to overcome all obstacles, he shared, “There were many times I stressed out, especially during my last semester, but my girlfriend urged me to stay focused.”

After college, David spent a few years playing professional basketball in Armenia, Spain, and Portugal. While being overseas was sometimes lonely due to the distance from loved ones, he felt that overall it was an amazing experience. Ultimately, he was ready to pursue a professional life outside of sports and moved to North Carolina in 2023, where he is now studying information science in graduate school at the University of North Carolina. David has pivoted from his initial interest in attending medical school to focusing on software development and the broader tech world—particularly where it intersects with medicine. Building on his biology background, he’s exploring fields like medical technology and bioinformatics, areas where data, coding, and scientific knowledge come together to solve healthcare challenges. And he is still earning straight As!

David’s advice to Millbrook students is to branch out and try anything and everything; he wishes he had done more of that when he was a student here. His time at Millbrook revolved mostly around basketball, and he could have gotten involved in or tried more things such as photography or the zoo. He offers this advice to current students: “Try new things—even if they don’t seem ‘cool.’ You’ll thank yourself later, and it will definitely give you a leg up when you’re heading into college. High school is the best time to explore before college and life gets more complicated.”

As a very successful student-athlete in college, here is what he had to say to current Millbrook student-athletes getting ready to play at the next level: “Enjoy every moment—it goes fast. But stay disciplined. Time management is everything. You’ll have 5 a.m. practices, weights, classes—it’s a lot. Sometimes that means skipping a hangout or party to finish your work. It’s all about balance and sacrifice.”