BUTLER TWP — One has been raised on basketball, being involved in the sport since age 5.

The other never picked up a basketball until seventh grade.

One has a father who was a 1,000-point scorer at Moniteau High School and a grandfather who coached basketball there.

The other has 10 siblings and no basketball heritage in his family at all.

One is a freshman who has already received an offer from Cleveland State University. The other is a senior mulling over a number of Division II and III opportunities.

Ethan Morton and Tyler Frederick come from different worlds, yet share common ground these days. Both are trying to help Butler’s varsity basketball team reach the WPIAL playoffs as the Golden Tornado face a critical game at Seneca Valley in their Section 1-6A finale tonight.

Win and Butler finishes third in the section. Lose, it could be out of the playoff picture altogether

“Tyler played varsity as a freshman, just like Ethan is doing now,” Butler coach Matt Clement said. “He’s the one guy who knows what Ethan is going through.

“They have an interesting relationship that way. I made Tyler a captain this year because I want him to be a leader. And he’s been there for Ethan. All of the seniors have been.”

Morton started coming around to Clement’s summer camps a couple of years ago.

“I didn’t even know who the kid was,” Frederick said. “But we noticed he could play. We welcomed him on the team this year. You forget he’s a freshman because he’s so mature about everything.

“What he’s doing now ... I can’t imagine doing anything like that my freshman year.”

Morton is averaging 13.3 points per game, shoots 81 percent from the free throw line, and averages five rebounds and five assists per contest.

Frederick is averaging 14.4 points, seven rebounds and two steals per game. He is shooting 63 percent from the field.

“To watch him play, you would never know he never played basketball until seventh grade,” Morton said. “How far Tyler has come, the way he’s developed as a player is incredible. He’s such a gifted athlete and he picks things up quick. I have so much respect for that.

“I hope he goes on to a college program, fits in and does great because he deserves it. I’ll go watch him play whenever I can. I’ll be his No. 1 fan for all he’s done for me.”

Among the schools looking at Frederick are Slippery Rock, La Roche. St. Vincent, Allegheny, Marietta, Shippensburg, Clarion and Penn State Behrend.

“People think Tyler should be averaging 20 or 30 points per game now and dominate as a senior,” Clement said. “He never had a chance to grow into the game like most high school players.

“When he was a freshman, he was guarding the likes of Ryan Luther, Malik Hooker, some of the best players in the WPIAL.”

Frederick remembers it well.

“That was extremely difficult,” he said. “I felt like I didn’t know what I was doing half the time. I was getting knocked around.

“I watch Ethan, how he handles himself ... He’s amazing. He’s needed little help from me.”

Morton disagrees. He recognizes Cleveland State as a starting point in his recruitment and has received interest from other major schools since.

He chooses not to disclose them.

“It’s not important right now,” Morton said. “Hearing from schools early just shows me I need to keep working hard for that to continue. I don’t want Cleveland State to be my only offer.

“It’s been a blessing for me joining this (Butler) team right from the start. Everybody has been so helpful in my transition and Tyler’s at the top of that list. I know I can go to him at any point and he’s there for me.”

Frederick is there for his family as well. Adopted at birth, he has three older siblings. One of them, Matt, is a student at Slippery Rock University.

Because both parents work, Frederick is often times called upon to babysit his seven younger siblings.

“We’ll get him home from practice in time to do that. It’s important for him and his family,” Clement said.

“My parents sacrifice a lot so I can enjoy the privilege of playing basketball,” Frederick said. “Helping out at home is something I should do.”

Morton was coached by his father, Ryan Morton, through much of his elementary school and YMCA years. His grandfather, Tom Morton, coached high school ball at Moniteau.

“After his grandfather watches him play, Ethan doesn’t hear things like ‘way to score those 20 points,’ he hears things like ‘you should move to your left more’ or ‘you should have passed the ball on this play.’ He’s being coached all the time,” Clement said.

Morton recognizes how that’s helped his development as a player.

“My dad coached me all through grade school,” he said. “My grandfather is always giving me advice. The impact they’ve made on me, the help they’ve provided me, I can’t begin to describe.”

Frederick, in the meantime, picked up a basketball in seventh grade “because my brother said I was tall and I should try it.”

Now Morton and Frederick combine to provide the Golden Tornado a solid inside-outside tandem through working with each other.

“Tyler is probably averaging five assists a game in the past month, just dishing the ball back outside,” Clement said.

Morton was the standout player on virtually every team he played for growing up.

Now he’s just one of the guys — and loves it.

“I can still be a scorer if I have to, if the situation calls for it,” Morton said. “But with Tyler and Connor (Ollio) inside and all of our shooters, I’m just trying to run our offense and help set up the open guy.”

Frederick is on the same page in that regard.

“It comes down to chemistry and we’ve got that,” Frederick said. “We go with the hot shooter. We have a feel for each other that way.”