The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Taylor Twins Take Brotherly Love To the Court
2/15/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 10, 2005
By JOHN ZENOR
AP Sports Writer
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - Donell Taylor is the talker and a half-inch taller. Ronell Taylor is the funny one and the sharper dresser.
If you still can't tell UAB's star twins apart, consider the distinctions in their multitude of tattoos. For instance: "I have 'God's Child,' he has 'Child of God,"' Ronell points out.
"We don't look anything alike once you've been around us a lot," Donell says.
Yeah, right. And the scintillating no-look pass that produced one of the indelible moments in last year's NCAA tournament had nothing to do with the fact that they're brothers who have been hooping it up together since they were little kids.
Even if Quence Donell Taylor Jr. and Quency Ronell Taylor aren't quite identical twins, they are two of Conference USA's more exciting players. They have led the Blazers into contention for a league title and a second consecutive NCAA tournament appearance.
Donell leads the team in scoring, averaging 15 points per game despite playing only 27 minutes in coach Mike Anderson's fast-paced system. Ronell is averaging 12 points, mostly off the bench.
But now the two inseparable brothers will be separated on the court for at least a few weeks. Ronell broke his left foot against Louisville last Saturday, but could make it back in time for the league tournament in a month.
Considering they're close enough to each have a tattoo proclaiming "I'm my brother's keeper," it's an ordeal for both siblings.
"It's real tough," Donell said. "I've been playing with him my whole life and to not play with him these last couple of games and maybe this season really hurts."
Ronell and Donell (pronounced Ron'-ell and Don'-ell) are almost eerily inseparable, conducting a recent interview in matching black warmup suits with the hoods up. They are roommates in Birmingham and on road trips.
Both are majoring in history with minors in health education, which makes sense considering they've had every class together since junior high school.
"Whenever you see one," Anderson said, "you'll see the other."
"It's amazing how similar they are in a lot of ways," he said. "They dress alike, their classes are identical, they finish thoughts for one another. And of course on the basketball court, you can see that they've got a great feel for one another."
That was never more evident than in the Blazers' upset of then-No. 1 Kentucky in the second round of last year's NCAA tournament. Kentucky was on a three-on-one break when Ronell stole a pass in the lane and blindly flipped the ball over his head to his brother near midcourt. Donell took it the rest of the way for a dunk.
"It still puts a big smile on my face whenever somebody asks me about it," said Ronell, before getting in a mock argument with his brother over who deserved most of the credit for the play.
"They just ask us how did I know he was there, how did he know I was going to throw it to him. I don't know. It just happened."
Or it might have been the product of countless hours playing together. They frequently travel around the state or even back to Okaloosa-Walton Junior College in Florida for pickup games during the summer.
The two general rules: they don't get to play on the same team and they don't guard each other because "we know each other's moves so good," Donell said.
They also quit playing one-on-one games a few years ago. "We never finish them," he said.
So much for trying to decide who's better. They pretty much dodge that question.
It's close, anyway. Ronell was the runner-up for Panhandle Conference Player of the Year at Okaloosa-Walton - to his brother.
The Montgomery Tip-Off Club named them co-Alabama players of the year in Class 6A as seniors at Sidney Lanier High School in Montgomery, and both were all-state picks.
"It's a tie," said Donell, who's the older brother by 22 minutes. "Ronell is a better shooter than me" - Ronell: "The stats don't show it this year" - "I'm a better ballhandler. Everything else is pretty much even."
Despite Donell's assertion that it's easy to tell them apart, Anderson has a simple shorthand for addressing them in practice and games.
"I call them No. 1 and No. 2," he said, referring to their jersey numbers. "When I'm mad I may say, 'Ronell' or 'Donell."'
He enjoys the confusion they can wreak on the court.
"When they're out there together, they kind of mirror each other," Anderson said. "To me, that's good because opponents are looking around saying, 'I thought I just left you' and here comes the other one."
