MINNEAPOLIS — While it wasn’t perfect, Timberwolves center Joan Beringer was fantastic in Minnesota’s preseason debut, showing the extreme promise and upside that he has, and why teammates, coaches, and fans alike are giddy with excitement regarding his development.

“Feel a lot better,” said the 19-year old postgame, who totaled 12 points on 5-8 shooting from the field, while collecting 7 rebounds in 15 minutes of run last night. “I work on the, on my game everyday, so yeah — feel good, and we won, so feel great.”

This preseason, Beringer has the chance to turn a lot of heads within the Timberwolves organization, as the backup center minutes are ripe for the taking, with the departure of the 2024 sixth man of the year Naz Reid in the LaMelo Ball trade.

The second-year man averaged 7.9 minutes per game in his rookie campaign, averaging 3.9 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 0.7 blocks per game, according to basketball reference. What has people so excited has little to do with his rookie numbers.

Beringer’s raw tools — unteachable traits are what make him a special project for Chris Finch and the organization. At just 19 years old, he stands 6-foot-11, with a 7-foot-4 and a half wingspan. His potential on the defensive end and his makeup in general is eerily comparable to four-time defensive player of the year and fellow Frenchman, Rudy Gobert.

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Though he looked great in his abbreviated action last night, he still picked up four personal fouls — something that has been far too common for Beringer in his NBA stint thus far, as foul trouble has often kept him off of the court.

“He’s gotta learn,” said coach Finch after last night’s 116-97 win over Milwaukee. “He’s gotta keep learning. I mean, the one foul where he was, you know he backed under the guy in the air — that was easily a controllable foul. You got to get rid of those. The offensive foul, look — you love the aggressive, going to the hoop, but he makes the right play to the corner, he probably doesn’t get that foul. So, there’s a couple controllables, and a couple that are, you know, gonna happen normally. It’s gonna be a work in progress.”

On media day, Beringer admitted that foul trouble was an area of growth going into his sophomore season in the association. “I think it's a mental skill, honestly,” said the Sélesat, France native. “It's more, like, ‘be aware that you don't have to jump every time,’ you know, especially I want to block everything, so I most of the time I just jump, you know, and try to block everything. So, I just have to learn, you know, like, be up and be smart. And, you just, like, I think it's just mental skills to, you know, to develop.”

With the aforementioned lack of big man depth on the current roster, Beringer will have several chances to prove himself throughout camp and the Timberwolves preseason.