Minnesota siblings Jamison and Amaya Battle are both basketball stars, with the brother playing forward for the Toronto Raptors and sister playing point guard for the Gopher women's team.
The Battles are there for each other, with an assist from their dad, Terrell Battle.
"They said [my dad's] game was probably more similar to mine," said Amaya Battle.
She is ready to lead the Gopher women's basketball team to an NCAA tournament, while her brother is in his second season with the Raptors. They go back a bit.
"Yeah, we'd grow up, we'd go to the gym," she said. "Over COVID, we would go to like the parks. We ran a hill together. That kind of sucked, but you got to stay in shape somehow."
Jamison Battle understands much. He played for three different colleges, including the Gophers and Ohio State.
"The different experiences you get, the people you meet, the coaches you have, being able to adjust and adapt on the fly at different colleges is something that I feel like I've learned, and I think it's helped prepare me for this level," said Jamison Battle.
So when Amaya Battle was making her decision on college, her brother was there to help.
"Just someone I can look up to. I remember in high school, like going through the recruiting process, being able to kind of like ask him and understand like, because there's a big picture of what you want to know when you go to college," she said.
He watches her, she watches him. He even compares their games.
"Just to play her game and just to play hard, and that's what she does. I mean she's an unbelievable point guard, she defends. I think that's something that she has on me," he said. "She's a great defender, but I know I have the shooting over her."
Their father was a college player as well, and his coaching and influence is not lost on either.
"You know, he was more like, or I guess mine's more similar to his, like getting to the hoop, passing, midi. I think my mid-range is better," she said. "My brother got the shooting because my dad couldn't really shoot."
And her older brother watching her make it to the NCAA tournament has meaning and pride.
"It's just super cool to see just because, you know, I never got to play in NCAA tournament, and seeing her and her team be able to make it this year is something that's super cool, and, you know, I'm going to live through her," he said.
And for a sister to have an older brother playing with the elite of the elite, it's pretty cool.
"I remember Maya Nnaji, my teammate, actually I don't know if her brother [Zeke Nnaji] was in the NBA when we were in high school, but he was working his way up there and I was like, 'Wow, that's so cool,'" she said. "And that's like my life now."
Suffice to say, they are proud of their roots and proud of each other.
"Stay at home and just to build it up from there is, is something that's super cool to see," he said. "And just for her to represent Minnesota as a state is something that you dream of as a kid."
The Gophers will find out their NCAA Tournament match up Sunday night. The Raptors play the Phoenix Suns Friday night.
In:
College Basketball
University of Minnesota Golden Gophers
NBA
Toronto Raptors
Basketball