Bartelsteins Stock on the Rise
When Josh Bartelstein arrived at New Hampshire’s Phillips Exeter Academy in September, he had already built himself an extensive basketball resume.
Amid the challenges of a broken ankle that cost him his sophomore season and a growth spurt that caused him to have to get adjusted to a new body after spurting up 5 inches in less than 12 months, Bartelstein starred in his senior year at Highland Park High School just outside of Chicago.
Teaming with current Cornell freshman Chris Wroblewski, Bartelstein led Highland to a 23-5 record that resulted in conference and regional championships. Individually, he was named All-Chicago Area, First Team All-Conference, and First Team All-Tournament in both the Moline Thanksgiving Tournament as well as the Prestigious Elgin Holiday Tournament.
He continued to excel over the summer as he starred with the Rising Stars AAU program during the July live period, earning MVP honors of the National Academic Showcase and going for multiple 30+ point performances at the Nike Super Showcase and AAU Nationals.
Consequently, when he arrived at Exeter in September he was someone that college coaches, especially those from high academic schools in the Ivy and Patriot Leagues, were already very aware of. Those coaches knew he was an elite level shooter who could put points on the board in a hurry with his ability to stroke the ball from the perimeter. But in the three months since Exeter has begun their regular season, Bartelstein has proven himself to be a player who can impact the game in a variety of other ways as well as someone who thrives in big games.
“Josh has become much more in-tuned to being a complete player when he doesn’t have the ball in his hands. He’s defending and learning how to fee himself like he will have to at the college level. He’s also one of the best shooters we’ve ever had at Exeter because he’s someone who makes big shots,” said Exeter head coach Jay Tilton. “Plus he’s got a real thirst for the game. He’s a real gym rat…he’s in there all the time.”
After working hard to add muscle in the weight room, he dropped 5-10 pounds in preparation for the season which has not just given him a more cut physique but has also made him a step quicker across the court. Consequently, he’s defending with better efficiency than ever before while still utilizing his strength and aggressiveness to be a terrific perimeter rebounder.
Offensively, he has separated himself from other elite level shooters by the multitude of ways that he can get his shot off. Not only is he lethal when he’s spotting up, but he is just as effective coming off screens, excels at making threes in transition, and is perhaps actually at his best when shooting off the dribble. But defenders have learned not to sleep on his ability to get to the basket as he is very proficient attacking close-outs and making plays in the open floor.
But more than anything else, he has been given the opportunity to prove that he is a true combo-guard who has the ball skills and basketball I.Q. to play either guard position instead of serving as strictly an off-the-ball scorer as he did at Highland Park.
Bartelstein is averaging close to 18 points and 6 assists per game on the season while shooting just under 50% from the three-point line. He has been particularly impressive in big games against Brewster Academy and the Tilton School where he scored 25 and 22 respectively.
“Josh was great against us last week,” said Brewster Academy head coach Jason Smith. “He knows how to play the game, understands angles on the defensive end, and is a shot maker, which is ultimately the name of the game…to put the ball in the basket.”
Bartelstein’s strong play as of late hasn’t gone unnoticed as schools like Princeton, Harvard, Detroit, Loyola, Wyoming, Toledo, and Valparaiso are all starting to recruit him hard. That’s bad news for people like Sacramento State, who was the first to offer him in September, as well as Elon, who has been on him hard for a long time.
And if he continues to play at such a high level, don’t be surprised if schools like Rice, Santa Clara, and San Diego make a hard push late, as they have all been keeping close tabs.
Josh Bartelstein