By Bill Koch
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Christi and Joel Cornette cheer for their son Joel during the second half of Butler's second-round NCAA East Regional game against Louisville Sunday. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

Illinois guard Dee Brown, left, has his shot blocked by Notre Dame forward Jordan Cornette. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

Butler's Joel Cornette (33) and teammate Duane Lightfoot (1) reach for the ball under the basket. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

There was no basketball hoop in their back yard when Joel and Jordan Cornette were growing up, so like any resourceful youngsters looking for a place to play the game they loved, they took advantage of their neighbors' kindness - and their backboard.

"Our neighbors would have to witness the blood on the court, the battles, the cursing and the loser coming home crying," Jordan said. "We used to play one-on-one a lot. (Joel) was older and he was expected to win. When he didn't, he was really upset."

Those fierce fraternal battles were not unlike many similar competitions between brothers, except that while the Cornette brothers were competing on their neighbors' court, they were also honing skills that have landed them in the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16.

Joel, a 6-9 senior forward, plays for Butler, which upset Mississippi St. and Louisville.

Jordan, a 6-9 sophomore forward, plays for Notre Dame, which survived a scare from Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the first round, then upset Illinois in the second.

Their teams' success has left their parents - Christi and Joel - scrambling to try to figure out how to see both of their sons play in person this weekend.

They managed the juggling act last weekend, with Jordan and Notre Dame playing in Indianapolis on Thursday and Saturday, while Joel and Butler were playing in Birmingham, Ala., on Friday and Sunday.

It'll be more difficult this weekend with Jordan in the West Regional in Anaheim, Calif., and Joel in the East Regional in Albany, N.Y.

"When we woke up this morning, we thought it was a dream," Christi Cornette said Monday. "We were so tired. Our neighbors had decorated our house. It's just been great."

As of early Monday afternoon, the plan was for the elder Joel to fly to Anaheim to watch Jordan and Notre Dame play Arizona on Thursday, then fly across country to join Christi in Albany, N.Y. for Butler and Joel's game against Oklahoma on Friday.

Joel has started 31 of 32 games for Butler and averages 11.3 points. He leads the team in rebounding with 6.4 per game and in blocked shots with 29.

Jordan plays 19.2 minutes per game for Notre Dame and averages 3.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocked shots.

Although they live in Kenwood not far from Moeller High School, they both attended St. Xavier, where Jordan played on the Bombers' 2000 state championship team as a junior. They have a younger brother, Jonathan, a junior who plays guard for St. X.

Joel and Jordan both began their high school careers as guards until they underwent growth spurts that turned each into a dominating inside presence.

Joel was 5-11 as a freshman. By his sophomore year he was 6-6, and by his junior year had grown to 6-9.

Jordan was 6-1 as a freshman, 6-4 as a sophomore and 6-8 as a junior.

"Joel was probably a little bit more offensive-minded than Jordan," St. Xavier coach Scott Martin said. "Both of them were excellent defenders and shot blockers. That part of their game was very similar."

So was the competitive zeal that first flared in Kenwood and still rages today.

"One of the things that helped us is how competitive we were," Joel said. "Back in the days when it was one-on-one in the neighborhood, it was cutthroat. We developed our competitive fire and our skills playing against each other."

Neither brother was expected to get this far in the tournament. Butler, a so-called mid-major program, was in danger of not making the field for the second straight year after losing in the Horizon Conference tourney.

When the Bulldogs did get in as an at-large selection, Pitt coach Ben Howland raised Joel's ire when he said fellow Big East member Boston College should have gotten in ahead of Butler.

"Maybe he's afraid of playing a mid-major in the tournament," Joel said. "Maybe he's afraid to run into us."

Joel says he and Jordan are pulling hard for one another, brother watching brother on TV when they can, and hoping that they'll get to do something they've never done before - play against each other in a sanctioned game.

The only way it can happen this year is if Notre Dame and Butler face each other for the national championship.

It's not very likely.

"I've never played against him and I almost hope I never will," Joel said. "But I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to meet him in the national championship this year. That would be tough on our parents, but it would be awesome for me and him."