NORFOLK, Va. - Throughout their lives, the Long siblings have been inseparable. They try to hang out every day and do as many things as possible together. But when it came to choosing colleges, they faced the reality of being apart – or so they thought.
During Alexys' senior year at Largo High School, located in Clinton, Maryland, Norfolk State offered her a basketball scholarship. She was shocked. Alexys did not expect to receive the offer because she admitted her purpose of playing at the time was solely for the fun of it.
"I wasn't planning on playing in college but I got the offer and so did Alex and we kind of looked at each other like, 'You gonna go? You gonna go?'"," said Alexys.
Meanwhile, Alex, who didn't begin playing organized basketball until his sophomore year of high school, was generating a recruiting buzz with his particular skill set. During his post-grad season at Mt. Zion Prep, he received multiple offers. Within a two-week span of his younger sister receiving her first offer from NSU, he received one as well.
"I'm not going to say her getting offered here too was everything, but I'm happy things shook out the way they did," said Alex. "When I visited NSU, I liked it here and the vibe I got being here. But, with her coming, it was icing on the cake."
The pair decided NSU was where they wanted to continue their journey and luckily, they got to do it together. Unlike Alex, Alexys really weighed her sibling's decision prior to making her own.
"I can't speak for him, but my decision was based on his," said Alexys. "My freshman year I was 17 and it was my first time being away from home. He was always here so it didn't feel like I was far from home."
Once arriving on campus and adjusting to college, the pair had the added responsibility of adjusting to college athletics. And like most young student-athletes, Alex quickly realized the intensity difference between high school and college.
"Honestly, if I came in with the right mental state, I might have done better early. I didn't know what to expect and I thought it would be like high school," said Alex. "I soon realized everybody was just as a good and I couldn't get away with (just) natural talent. It took a while to grasp that."
Their own learning curves and talent already on the roster meant fewer minutes and less early production than each might have expected. In addition to basketball, they still had academics and the social aspect of college to master, so everything wasn't perfect early on.
"We have always been close, but when one of us is down or struggling, we go to each other for stuff like that. Honestly, our relationship has helped us through a lot of the stuff we have gone through," said Alex.
Trust is also a key component to the siblings' relationship.
"I have no doubt he wants the best for me so I don't hesitate to tell him stuff or when I need someone to tell me it's time to buckle down, he does that for me, too," said Alexys.
After playing smaller roles their first two seasons, the Long sibling's saw their numbers increase last year. Alexys averaged 10.3 points, mostly shooting from deep. Her 3-point shooting percentage was a conference-leading 43.1 percent, and she ranked fourth in threes per game, with 1.9. She also averaged 4.8 rebounds and 1.0 assist a game.
"My sister is easily one of the best shooters in the country," said Alex.
Alex's game is more reliant on playing good defense and offensive efficiency around the basket. He averaged 10.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game last season. In conference play, his rebound average increased to 7.0, including a team-high 27 blocks on the year.
"Really, we're both versatile, but at the same time we have our distinguishing features like rebounding, passing and scoring in different ways," said Alex. "Both of our mid-range games are good. I'm better around the basket and she's better from 3, so I would say our games complement one another."
Although neither sibling compares their games to one another or necessarily sees many comparable traits, the pair often watches each other's practices, games, and film to give each other critique.
"I usually just tell him things about just shooting more because he's a better shooter than he thinks and I tell him more technical things about shooting," said Alexys. "After his games, I'll wait for him to come out the locker room, even though he takes the longest, and we'll talk more."
This makes for an easy way of adding to the time they spend together because finding time throughout their days as upperclassmen can be difficult.
"We try to hang out as much as we can, but right now our schedules aren't matching up. That's rare for us though because we're usually together all the time at home, but I'm in my senior year and she's in an honors program so I'd probably say we only hang out once a week right now," said Alex.
Alexys agreed with her brother's statement, but insinuated that all their busy schedules do is make finding time to spend together a more creative endeavor.
"As upperclassmen, it's not as often that we hang out, but in the past we would spend the night in the gym and eat pizza, play NBA 2k with his friends, and shoot all night because our workloads were light," said Alexys. "Now it's harder, so we create time to go eat or shoot when we can, and we do things like talk after each other's games."
Both players were picked to the preseason All-MEAC teams, Alex to the men's second team and Alexys to the women's third team. Individual accolades aside, the siblings are more focused than ever on leaving a mark on the NSU basketball program before their departure.
"Every team's goal is to win a championship, so I want to do everything in my power to help my team do that," said Alexys. "Whether I am asked to rebound more, score, assist, whatever I'm asked to do, I will do it and help lead by example."
As you could guess, Alex's answer is not too far off from his sister's.
"I want to play professionally, but first I want to help our team win a championship," said Alex. "I've learned so much about myself since being here. The coaches have helped me develop into becoming a better player so I want to show how good I can be this year."
This season marks their final opportunity to showcase what those late night shootarounds and determination displayed since arriving on campus have produced. Plus, being able to conclude their collegiate careers together just seems right.
