100% Cotten
2/5/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 5, 2009
The Brothers Aminu took their sibling rivalry into the record books in Atlanta recently. It was the game within the game. Good theater. Better basketball.
When Wake Forest and Georgia Tech locked horns at Memorial Coliseum, Al-Farouq and Alade Aminu, Georgia natives and descendants from a line of Nigerian Kings, became just the second-ever set of brothers to oppose one another on the ACC hardwood.
Oddly enough, the first time brothers ever played against one another in an ACC game, one brother was a Demon Deacon. It happened on January 3, 1969, when Wake's Jerry Montgomery faced off against brother Roger of Maryland. Jerry outscored Roger, 6-4. Wake outscored Maryland, 93-71.
The Battle of Aminu was much more dramatic. In 1969, the residents of Charlton Heights, West Virginia, likely slept through the game between the Deacs and Terrapins at the Greensboro Coliseum. Neither brother set any offensive records, and Wake was a runaway winner. But in Atlanta, the game went to the wire and each of the Aminu boys recorded a double-double. And each had something to brag about.
Al-Farouq beat Alade in scoring, 17-10. But Alade outrebounded his younger, and by an inch, shorter brother Al-Farouq, 13-11. Alade had six blocks. Al-Farouq had five steals. And nobody slept a wink unless they fainted as the seconds wound down with the game tied -- the outcome hanging in the balance.
It could have easily been a game where the Deacs faced both of the Aminus instead of just Alade. Al-Farouq, one of the nation's most prized recruits out of Norcross High School, had narrowed his college choices down to Wake Forest, North Carolina and Georgia Tech. He committed to the Deacs in July of 2007, just weeks before the death of Skip Prosser. It would have been easy for him to change his mind after Prosser died. Regroup - join Alade at Georgia Tech.
But he stayed true to his word. Made good on his commitment.
And when he walked on to the court in Atlanta to begin his warm-ups, I noticed little pockets of applause springing up from different sections of the arena. And not just from the Wake Forest fans who were there. The Atlanta crowd was welcoming home one of its favorite sons. The fans were acknowledging not only his return but also his play this season representing Wake Forest. And them. He was an Aminu. He was still family. It was one of those situations where the Tech fans cheered for Al-Farouq and against the Demon Deacons. I think most of us have been there. It can be done.
The proudest folks in the building had to be Mom and Dad. Aboubbakar and Anjirlic Aminu were there cheering for their sons. And the Deacs. And the Jackets. All at the same time. They won. They lost. And come February 18, they get to do it again.
Georgia Tech won the game, so Alade has taken the advantage in the Brothers Aminu Sweepstakes. I asked Al-Farouq after the game about playing his brother. When I began forming my question I noticed a smile that broke out momentarily on the face of the Deacs' budding superstar. But he downplayed the fact that two brothers were playing against each other and talked more about wanting to beat the Georgia Tech team, not his brother. His grin, though, betrayed him a little bit.
After all, the younger brother always wants it more. And don't forget, Al-Farouq is Nigerian for "the chief has arrived."
