Can you tell which twin is which?/AP

By Elizabeth McGarr

You've heard about VMI's Travis and Chavis Holmes, but what about other twins playing Division I basketball? SI.com caught up with two freshmen who are already making an impact at Kansas: Markieff and Marcus Morris. A 6-foot-9-inch center who is seven minutes older than his brother, Markieff averages 4.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. Marcus, a forward who is one inch shorter than his twin, averages 7.7 points and 5.1 rebounds for the No. 15 Jayhawks. Here's what they had to say…
 
What is the best prank you've ever pulled?
Markieff: We switched places in the third grade. I was good at math, and he was really good in English. We switched classes to take tests. When we got home, he told my mom, which he wasn't supposed to do, but he did anyway. We haven't done it since.
Marcus: That was the best one by far. I don't know why I told [our mom], but being that young, some stuff just comes out.
 
Have the two of you caused any misunderstandings at Kansas?
Markieff: Sometimes we get quoted in the newspaper wrong. They interview me and say his name or interview him and say my name. That happens all the time.
Marcus: In everything, we always get grouped together. If I'm doing something bad, he gets blamed for it, and if he's doing something bad, I get blamed for it. Sometimes we'll be in practice and one of the coaches feels as though I'm not going hard. Even if Kieff's going hard, the coach'll say 'Kieff, you're not going hard either.' Or, 'Twins are not going hard.'
 
How do your teammates and coaches tell you apart?
Markieff: Marcus tries to cut his sideburns off his face so he can have a clean face. I have hair on my face. And when we're together, I'm taller than he is.
Marcus: Sometimes they don't even make an effort. Sometimes they just call us which one they think we are. They just keep calling and when I don't answer, they'll switch the name up. Everybody's been doing that my whole life, so it's nothing new. I'm already used to it.
 
How would you rate your brother's game?
Markieff: He can take his man off the dribble and he can defend better than I can. I'm more of a banger inside. I rebound a little bit better. I've got better post moves.
Marcus: He's mobile and he can shoot the three real well. He has a lot of quick post moves that a lot of forwards don't have. I think he dunked [at a younger age] than I did. I think I dribble better.
 
You lived in Philadelphia for 17 years before going to prep school in New Jersey, and now your mom has moved to Lawrence. What has it been like having your mom around at college?
Markieff: She lives about five minutes away by car. We see her at least four times a week and at every game. I text her sometimes to see how her day was, see what she's doing, if she's going to cook dinner.
Marcus: This past summer, she cooked out for us on the grill every night. All my teammates would come over and eat. She's just like the team mom.
Markieff: She'd make ribs, some cornbread, some potato salad, fried chicken. She makes a lot of stuff.
Marcus: My mom has been a great help. When I need to talk to somebody, I always go to her apartment. When I need to get away from being at school and just want to feel like I'm back home, I always just go relax over there.
 
Do you both have similar likes and dislikes?
Markieff: We have the same taste in a lot of stuff. Same taste in clothing, sneakers, girls, haircuts. Whenever we do like the same girl -- I know it's not right -- we kind of play a game, and whoever wins gets to talk to her. We never argue over girls. That's one thing we don't do. We'll probably play NBA 2K8 or 2K9. He used to beat me a lot, but I've probably beat him 25 straight times.
Marcus: Maybe more like 10 to 11 times in a row, but I beat him the last time. We'll see a girl. I'll be like, 'I want to talk to her.' He'll say, 'Oh, I want to talk to her.' So we'll say, 'All right, well, forget it.' We'll play the game, and whoever wins gets to talk to her. The last time we did that was in prep school or maybe high school.
 
How did you decide whether or not to room together?
Marcus: There was no question. Before we got here, we already knew we were going to room together. I mean, we've been together all our lives and we never get tired of each other.
Markieff: I've never really been away from him for more than two days. He went on a senior trip one time that I couldn't go on, but I told him to go. Ever since seventh grade we've been in the same class. Here in college, we're in the same classes, oddly enough. I would think they would split twins up eventually, but it's all right with me.