Double Jeopardy

I think we can all agree that watching brothers play against each other or with each other in the same sport is just awesome. If they're on opposing sides, you wonder who the overweight mom, decked out in both team's apparrel, is truly rooting for. You wonder how the coach tells the difference between them and how much they get away with at practice. We all got a taste of a pair of beastly brothers in college basketball a few years ago when Brook and Robin Lopez ran Stanford. Ben and Tyler Hansbrough, Marcus and Carl Landry, and Seth and Stephen didn't get it quite right by playing on different teams than their counterparts, and also having a skill discrepancy. This year, there seems to have been a new influx of brothers and twins in the college game, which is... awesome. Playing a sport in college is amazing. Playing a sport in college with your brother is even more amazing (we have three pairs in the ACC). Playing in the pros with a brother: that is the pinnacle of sports.

Pictured above is David and Travis Wear of North Carolina. They are the more rare breed of brothers in identical twins. As freshman, they had their fun with Roy Williams early in the season by switching it up on Coach. I wouldn't be surprised if Williams got a hernia from that because it hasn't been hard to tick him off during this disappointing season. A few miles down Tobacco Road lie the Brothers Plumlee, hailing from Duke. As much as I hate Duke basketball, I must give credit to the parents of Mason and Miles Plumlee for deciding to go with the aliteration option when naming their now 6'10 sons. We remain in the ACC. Clemson is a program which is certainly on the rise and is making a name for itself. A lot of this can be attributed to a guy named Trevor Booker. The guy is an animal and if basketball doesn't work out, he can always pull a Tony Gonzalez or Antonio Gates and become an NFL tight-end. Booker's in his senior season now and this one is special because his brother, Devin Booker, was added to the team and is becoming an integral factor.

On arguably one of the best teams in the country in Kansas, lies a pair of sophmore brothers who are desperately trying to make names for themselves, although when Kansas comes up, Collins, Aldrich, and Henry comes to mind a bit quicker. Marcus and Markieff (bonus points for aliteration and the fact that his names Markieff) are very valuable parts to this Jayhawks squad and this package deal of identicals is making Bill Self's job a bit easier. Kansas is about to capture the #1 seed and have a shot at reclaiming their National Championship from 2008. The Morris brothers have a lot to do with it and are probably the best brothers (together) in the game right now. Look out though, the Wears and Plumlees are just freshman.

Now, who has what it takes to play in the pros with their brother. I'm going to rule the Morris brothers out. They're contributing the most, but I don't think both of them can make it. Trevor Booker looks like he may be the only pro in that family although his brother is just a freshman. The Plumlees and Wears both have a lot of potential. However, when's the last time you saw two 6'10 white guys make it to the NBA from Duke lately? Jay Bilas, the voice of reason in college basketball, is the closest thing we have. Sorry, Jay. Do we have what it takes with these twins or are the Lopez's going to stand alone for a while. If this wave of brothers don't make it to the NBA, there will be more to come. I hope a magical combo can make the leap, because as Dwight Schrute once said, "I love finding a good set of twins."