When he was younger, Lawrence High sophomore catcher Drew Green spent countless hours watching his older brother, Dorian, turn in performances on the basketball court and baseball diamond that will be talked about in LHS lore for years.

Today, with Green and his baseball teammates preparing for Friday’s first round of the Class 6A state tournament, the younger Green has stepped out of the shadow of his older brother and has his eye set on surpassing him.

“There are always going to be people who want to compare us,” Drew said. “But I really just try to be my own person. I use all of what he accomplished as motivation, and I want to get at least one state championship while I’m here. I wouldn’t mind getting a couple, though. You know, more than him.”

Most of Dorian’s legend was created on the basketball court, where he twice led LHS in scoring and also earned multiple all-state and all-Sunflower League honors before moving on to play college ball at Colorado State, where he will begin his senior year this fall. But his one state title came in 2009, when the Lions won the 6A state baseball trophy, with Dorian picking up the victory on the mound in the semifinals.

Like his older brother, Drew also played basketball growing up, but he gave that up after his freshman year.

He’s a baseball and football guy now, and giving it their all on the diamond is about the only place the Green brothers overlap.

“I’ve coached a lot of brother combinations,” LHS baseball coach Brad Stoll said. “And these two cats are as polar opposite as it gets. One of them is tall, lanky and doesn’t say much. The other is short, stocky and never shuts up.”

The latter is Drew, who has started about half of Lawrence’s games at catcher this season and has made a heck of an impact. At last week’s regional tournament in Olathe, Green, who bats third in the Lions’ order, rocked a home run during the regional semifinal against Free State and caught two sensational games from LHS pitchers. Dorian, a pitcher and outfielder during his days at LHS, sat quietly in the stands and watched, sometimes even pacing when the moment became tense. That’s the same way Dorian carried himself when he played, but that, too, is in contrast to the way Drew plays.

“I get fired up, and I show more emotion,” said Drew, who also plays middle linebacker in football. “That’s just the way I get into the games.”

Despite their different styles, Stoll said the Greens had one important thing in common.

“They’re two different dudes,” Stoll said. “But they both have that burning desire to win.”

While waiting for his time to shine, Drew grew familiar with Dorian’s place in the spotlight and said he enjoyed watching his older brother dominate. So much so that he doesn’t even mind much when teammates tease him by calling him “Dorian” or “Dorian’s brother.”

“There are worse things to be called,” Drew said with a laugh.