FEATURE 5
Contrast of styles works for Jayhawks
Henry brothers, Morris twins bring different personalities, skills to Kansas basketball team
By Corey Thibodeaux cthibodeaux@kansan.com
One pair is years apart in age and even further apart in personality. The other two are basically mirror images — figuratively and literally.
Twenty-three-year-old C.J. Henry and 18-year-old brother Xavier join 20-year-old twin brothers Marcus and Markieff Morris to make a unique Kansas roster.
C. J. is proud to be a part of a rare circumstance with two sets of brothers, especially because it involves his own flesh and blood.
"It's a special thing to do with a family member," he says, "especially at Kansas."
Both sets are immensely close off the court. The Henrys have not had time to bond on the court, but the Morris twins have been doing this since the ninth grade.
It's simple to tell who the twins on the team are, says Marcus, but deciphering who the other set of siblings are is a different story.
"Sometimes you could forget that they're brothers, too," Marcus says. "They have two different personalities and act two different ways."
C. J., though he says his mood changes in different situations, is relatively calm and serious on the surface. Xavier is constantly smiling and upbeat.The two spend a lot of time together and also have many of the same classes, but the age difference and experiences make them diverse.
Maybe because C.J. is older and has more understanding of the world, C.J. says, his perspectives may have changed. He recounts the lessons he learned in minor league baseball for the Yankees and the Phillies, such as sportsmanship and being coachable, to his teammates and helps his blossoming brother mature.
"There's a lot of stuff I tell a lot of guys about how to carry yourself and how you go about your business because you're trying to make this your job," C.J. says.
The younger Xavier is garnishing attention from all over the country but says the whole team is under pressure, not just him. His family is in the process of moving down to Lawrence and having C.J. around for guidance is a good way to keep him level-headed.
"All day, he's always competitive but still trying to help," Xavier says. "He always tries to stay in your ear."
The Morris twins say compared with normal siblings, twins have a certain "vibe" causing them to do everything in the same fashion. On the court, it's easy to know what the other is going to do and where he will be. It's a little harder dealing with teammates, they say.
"I can know when my brother is about to do a certain thing." Marcus says. "But Cole, not this year but last year, he was unpredictable. But half the stuff that Keef does, I know he's about to do it."
Off the court, the twins spend roughly every waking moment together. They've had the same classes all throughout school and plan to until they depart. They have the same tattoos on their arms depicting themselves with the name "Twin Towers" underneath. The Morris twins say they don't want to fall into the stereotypical twin tendencies like dressing the same, but there are days when they can't help it.
"We put on the same clothes probably once or twice a week," Markieff says. "One of us will just go back and switch it."
Having what they call a "cool" view of being twins and spending all their time together, the Morris twins declared themselves the best set of siblings on campus. At some point, though, they know their years of being together will come to an end. If they were to enter the NBA draft at some point, their chances of joining the same team would be minimal.
"We talk about this all the time," Markieff says. "Whenever one of us is ready for the NBA, just do it. We're always going to be close. We may not be physically close, but we're still twins, so there's that."
Marcus finished his brother's thought.
"It's going to be real hard," he says. "We'll be men by that time and grown up. Every chance we get to see each other, we will take the opportunity."
Follow Corey Thibodeaux at twitter.com/c_thibodeaux.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THE WAVE DECEMBER 4,2009