Before University of Michigan basketball players Josh Bartelstein and Matt Vorgrich were teammates, they were rivals playing for Highland Park and Lake Forest High Schools respectively.
They will reach their biggest basketball moment together Friday when the fourth-seeded Wolverines meet top rated Kansas in the NCAA tournament's Sweet 16.
In an in-depth feature published earlier this month, The Michigan Daily delves into Bartelstein's time in Highland Park, where he grew up idolizing Highland Park High School's varsity players.
When he finally ended up playing on Highland Park's team, he impressed then-coach Paul Harris.
"Josh loves the game of basketball," Harris said. "He was a gym rat who was always trying to improve as a player. Most impressively Josh was a tremendous teammate. He set the bar for how to support teammates during his three years as a varsity player."
The high school seems to have been a huge positive influence on Bartelstein. He's even said that he'd like to end up back in Highland Park -- as a coach.
"If you ask me what I’d ultimately like to do next year," he told the Michigan Daily, "it’d be to give back and be an assistant at my high school in Highland Park."
Vogrich had a similarly skillful upbringing in Lake Forest. By the time he reached third grade, he was playing for a Lake Forest recreation league team. In the final game that season, he scored 22 of his team's 26 points in the fourth quarter. His team won the league title.
"We were like, 'He’s pretty good,'" his father Bob told Patch last year.
He was a star at Lake Forest High School, compiling a school-record 1,476 points. A couple of years on the AAU circuit for high-profile Full Package Athletics gave Matt national exposure. He was recruited by basketball powerhouses Notre Dame, Illinois and UCLA.
Now, Bartelstein and Vogrich are on a team that is set to play the top-seeded Kansas Jayhawks on Friday evening.
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