Joshua Bernstein is about to receive a special gift toward the end of Hanukkah.

Bernstein, 21, has played 88 college basketball games for the Tufts University men’s basketball team and three years of high school varsity basketball.

None of those games have taken place in his home region of Miami-Dade County – until Dec. 20, when the Jumbos (7-2) play Saint Vincent College in Miami Gardens. The following day, Bernstein will play his 90th career game against Vermont State-Lyndon, also in Miami Gardens.

“I expect to have a lot of friends and family there,” said Bernstein, a 6-foot-11, 250-pound center and one of the Jumbos’ three team captains. “We’ll play two good teams in Florida and also have a day to hang out. It’s always great to get out of the northeast in December.”

Tufts began the season as the fourth-ranked team in NCAA Division III. Bernstein is averaging 9.1 points and 8.9 rebounds per game for the Jumbos, who have won seven consecutive games after dropping their first two games. Last Wednesday, Bernstein finished with 13 points and 16 rebounds in a 121-67 win over Bridgewater State.

He’s now considering playing professionally in Israel or Europe.

Bernstein, who is set to complete his computer science degree this spring, was always strong academically. He even started an app (HelpU) to connect college students with side gigs.

When it came to basketball, however, he was a late bloomer.

“I was a 6-foot-5 middle schooler doing speech and debate – that was my thing,” said Bernstein, the son of Neil Bernstein, who played basketball for Penn in the 1980s.

Bernstein didn’t try out for the basketball team during his freshman year in 2018-19 at Nova Southeastern University High School in suburban Miami. As a sophomore, he transferred to The Berkshire School in Sheffield, Massachusetts – a boarding school in the rural western part of the state. The Florida native found a love for basketball, thanks to the guidance of his coach, during his three years in the Berkshires.

The experience in the Berkshires propelled Bernstein into winning gold medals at the Maccabi Games, in which he participated in Mexico City and Israel. “It was really cool to visit Israel,” Bernstein said. “It was mesmerizing to see so many Jewish people from observant to very secular (and everything in between).”

Bernstein was familiar with the Berkshires from family time there over the years. He didn’t mind moving to the cold of New England, but it was quite a transition going from the metropolitan (and mostly, Jewish) city of Aventura, Florida to remote Sheffield, where he was one of five Jewish students at the boarding school. Those five students included his twin sister, Samantha, who will also graduate from Tufts this spring.

“Samantha comes to all of my games, and she’s very, very supportive of Tufts basketball. She’s actually earned herself the nickname of ‘Super Fan Sam,’” Bernstein said.

Arriving in Medford at 200 pounds, Bernstein added 50 pounds of muscle to his frame by his sophomore season. Last month, Bernstein moved into second place all-time in blocked shots among Tufts players, with 159. He needs 71 more blocks to pass Tom Palleschi, who set the record in 2017. Last season, Bernstein had seven blocks in a game against MIT.

“I pride myself on being a presence on defense in the paint, so being one of the top shot blockers in Tufts history is pretty cool and rewarding,” Bernstein said. “Our identity as a team has always been defense, so having an accolade like that is a testament to our team honestly.”

The Jumbos center also has a knack for delivering especially strong performances in in the postseason. Last spring, he finished with a career-high 19 rebounds in a first round NCAA tournament victory over Yeshiva. As a sophomore, he had 14 points and five rebounds in an NCAA win over Stockton, and came up with a double-double (11 points and 11 rebounds) in another NCAA opener (a victory over Widener).

“I think I’ve always been a player to rise to the occasion,” Bernstein said. “I think I play better when the stakes are higher and don’t shy away from that sort of stage.” Θ