DALLAS - Telling identical twins apart is not easy.

Lincoln high school juniors Erick and Derrick Neal don't make it any easier.

"Basically we have the same face," Erick said as the two stood side-by-side for our interview.

"We just have different haircuts," Derrick said. "And you can see he has a birthmark on his face," said Derrick, pointing to a spot next to Erick's left eye. "And I don't have it."

Erick wears No. 3, both in basketball and football. Derrick wears No. 2 for football, and No. 4 for basketball. They were first and second in touchdowns scored for the football team, which went 7-0 in district -- Erick was the quarterback, Derrick a wide receiver.

Now, they are the leading scorers for the basketball team, which has a 7-0 record in district play.

"Most basketball fans would always say, you need guard play," said Lincoln's head basketball coach Leonard Bishop. "And then when you have two guards who play the way they play, it makes it so much simpler."

I'm a twin myself -- fraternal, not identical -- and growing up, everyone wanted to compare us, while we just wanted to be different. Erick and Derrick are identical and they embrace their similarities.

"Actually, I like being a twin; we like being the same," Derrick said. "It's like a good opportunity to have a twin who's like the same as you."

They also plan to play their college ball together in a couple years, and while they are interchangeable at the guard positions, Derrick primarily plays point guard, Erick is a shooting guard.

"I want it to be fast-tempo," Derrick said, when talking about what kind of program he hopes to play for in college.

"I think we're going to pick a college that fits our play," Erick said. "Open court, screens, fast-tempo."

And because they're a package deal, college coaches won't have to worry about mixing them up while recruiting; just go after both of them.


Twitter @tedmadden

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