Jersey Twins Making Colleges Look Twice

Look closely at the rosters of Oklahoma State, Southern California and UAB and you’ll notice a trend: twins dot each of the rosters.

Ronnell and Donnell Taylor both starred for the Blazers. Errick and Derrick Craven and Lodrick and Rodrick Stewart all played for Henry Bibby and the Trojans. Joey and Stephen Graham went to the Final Four with the Cowboys.

Want to find the next deadly duo? Look no further than James and Semaj Inge out of Woodrow Wilson HS in Camden, New Jersey.

They’ve been confusing people since they were born so it’s only natural that the twins confused opponents, coaches and sometimes their own teammates all season long on the hardwood. But don’t confuse this: both of these New Jersey prep stars are just now breaking onto the national scene.

Semaj, a 6-foot-5 junior, averaged 18.6 points in a state championship season. Fraternal twin James is a 6-foot-4 sophomore guard and averaged 12 points and 10 rebounds. (He was held back in third grade.) Playing together has thrown off opponents on several occasions.

“In one game, my defender went to cover him and I was alone right under the basket because he had two guys on him,” Semaj said. “Sometimes coach will be looking at me and calls out his name. It happens all the time.”

James said their relationship has made each other competitive and focused all at the same time.

“We are always competing,” James said. “We are always making each other better. When he is doing something wrong, I get on him. And when I do something wrong, he gets on me. We just help each other out.”

Their mother, Angela, says they also have an instinct that can’t be taught.

“They just know where the other one is at all times,” she said. “Sometimes when we are at their games we can’t believe how they see each other sometimes when they make a pass. It’s like they just sense where the other one is going to be.”

Colleges are starting to take an early notice in the Inge brothers. Semaj, the junior, has interest from Virginia Tech, Syracuse, Massachusetts, Villanova, Maryland and Delaware. James, who scored 40 points last weekend at an AAU event in Delaware, is getting early looks from Virginia, Virginia Tech and Villanova. Don’t expect the two to play at the same place, though.

“We haven’t really talked about playing together. I strongly doubt we will. We’ll probably break up for college,” James said.

We will keep our eyes on the duo as they suit up for the DeJuan Wagner Rising Stars on the AAU circuit. They will be at the Easter Charlie Weber event and other major tournaments this summer. Stay tuned to RivalsHoops for exclusive updates.