Tiki and Ronde Barber. Brook and Robin Lopez. Devin and Jason McCourty. Having a sibling brings a unique bond, but a twin brings with it a special connection all its own. It's more than just having a buddy around, rather having someone who thinks on the same wavelength as you, who shares your interests and beliefs. Someone who you can talk to and bounce ideas off of.
 
The same can be said for Joshua Bagley and his brother, Aaron. Growing up sharing a room in Durham, N.C., the two were inseparable as children, from the time that they could crawl all the way through learning to ride bikes. They did all of the essential activities: playing video games, hanging out with friends, and playing sports. Being the sons of a football player, Josh and Aaron were introduced to all sports at an early age, but the one that they both gravitated towards would be indoors rather than out on the field.
 
"When [our dad] first found out that these little dudes are going to be playing basketball, he kind of took it hard," Josh said with a laugh. "He knew about basketball and played while growing up, but never took it seriously. So, he started to research things on his own to do more things in basketball. He was going to push us more to football, and if my mom didn't allow it, we would have been playing football at a younger age. Her biggest problem with it was, 'I don't want them to get hurt and have bigger problems down the road to where they can't function.'"
 
The two Bagley brothers picked up their first basketball at the age of four years old, with the thought that it would be something the pair could do when they inevitably got bored. They would grow to love the game, from the bounce of the ball on hardwood or asphalt, to the "swish" of the net as the ball sinks right through without hitting the rim. It was better than the alternatives according to Josh.
 
"I played baseball when I was younger, and just played a little bit of soccer," Josh said. "I never played soccer as a teen, just for the fact that I hated running. I still do. At least in basketball there's different aspects to running, but in soccer you're just running for 90 minutes. I tried baseball until I was about 10 or 11, but it was too slow of a pace, so basketball was just the best fit for me."
 
While dad had hoped his boys would play on the gridiron, he was supportive of Josh and Aaron all the same, making sure he was at all of their games. He was as hands-on as he could be, leading them through workouts in the offseason and even helping coach a couple of seasons. Mom knew good basketball, and wouldn't be afraid to talk hoops, but she became more of the stress reliever who could talk about life with them.
 
"My parents were trying to make sure that no matter what, my brother and I lived a better lifestyle than they did," Josh said. "With that, especially for my dad, he was always trying to be there for us, no matter the time or what was going on. We were his main priority. I just knew that no matter what, they were going to have my back."
 
Peanut butter and jelly are an accurate description for the two - where you would see one you would always see the other. Their relationship was always close as brothers and twins, but at the same time it always had its own unique element:
 
"My mother never told us who was older just to get that petty argument out of the way," Josh said. "So that way when we were fighting, there's no, 'Oh I'm the big bro so shut up.' There was none of that."
 
They were both fiery competitors, and Josh credits that will to compete with his brother as the reason why basketball was so interesting to them; neither wanted to lose. Most of the time, games of one-on-one outside wouldn't end with a clear winner, because the pair would be sent inside for fighting before they could finish. While they would battle against each other at the house, the pair would usually be on the same side when playing on teams. They were like salt and pepper, the obvious chemistry was apparent even while growing up. This was in all areas of life, from arguments with friends or competitors on the court.
 
"We could argue [with each other], but if someone else was trying to argue with us, that would be a problem," Josh said. "We could be in the middle of an argument, and it wouldn't matter who – my dad did it one time, he was getting on us while we were arguing with each other, and then he tried to get on one of us and the other just came in and said 'No.' It didn't matter who it was."
 
With time came maturity, as the duo began to start having deeper and more genuine conversations about their separate but conjoined lives. Having shared a room their whole lives, both Josh and Aaron wanted some independence to establish their own identities as they were going into high school. A deal was made to solve the dilemma of who gets the bigger room, with Josh opting to take the smaller room with the bonus of an Xbox. 
 
By this time, playing the game of basketball had become a stress reliever for Aaron and Josh, a way to escape the pressures of normal life and focus on balling out. Playing with other good players as they got older elevated their respective games, and they stood out at the high school level. It was never out of the realm of possibility to think about playing at the collegiate level.
 
"I grew up around a lot of good players, especially from the Durham area, and some of my friends were really good," Josh said. "It was never like a shock or anything to me to play at the next level because some of the people I grew up around were so good. It was like, I can step on the court with them, so it doesn't really matter what level it is."
 
Collegiate basketball was going to be the plan, until one day during the pair's junior year. Suddenly, Aaron went into cardiac arrest, and would ultimately go into a coma. A week later, Aaron passed away.
 
"My parents definitely became a lot bigger part of my life, and my grandparents too," Josh said. "My dad's friends are like a second family, and they are really big in my life. My parents definitely stepped it up a lot, and my dad was always there for me, so they helped me through it a lot.
 
"We already kind of knew because we've had some other things happen in the family, but you just can't take a day for granted," Josh said. "You just never know what's going to happen."
 
There wasn't just a single memory that Josh keeps fresh in his mind that encompasses who Aaron was. There were too many of those instances to recall -memories from playing on teams with friends that they grew up with, people that shaped them into the young men that they were. It would be unfair to single out a specific story, but that doesn't mean that Aaron is not remembered. 
 
"Honestly, when I look at myself in the mirror, I look just like him," Josh said. "It's too hard to pick just one thing. I do stay in his room [at home in Durham], so that's probably like the biggest thing."
 
For someone so used to always having someone by his side, Josh was for the first time on his own. While it was somewhat apparent on the court, nowhere was it more evident than off the court. It's not just losing his teammate, but his brother. The Seth to his Steph Curry would not be checking back into the game. That emotional rollercoaster rolls on even to this day, as Josh notes that it has had its ups and downs.
 
"Sometimes I enjoy the game to its fullest, but sometimes it's like, 'Dang, I'm doing this by myself now,'" Josh said. "It's a mixture of emotions at times, but I definitely do enjoy playing a game that we both found so much love in."
 
Without his brother, Josh had to mentally figure out who he was, and needed to depend more on himself. It was almost like discovering a new identity, moving from some of their shared interests and trying to find things that speak individually to Josh.
 
"Mentally, I had to just grow up a little bit more and figure out who I was as a person," Josh said. "I lived more than the majority of my life so far with a twin brother, so it was more of figuring out what I want to start doing, what I like and enjoy, not just what do we want to do together. I still have people I can talk to for advice, but it was always like, if I need something I'm just going across the room."
 
It was a tough adjustment at first, but one that Josh has settled into. Many athletes in professional and college sports use their past experiences for motivation, something Josh now is all too familiar with. 
 
"I definitely tried to funnel it more to the motivation side," Josh said. "I've used it to push myself and do better for myself."
 
Life after high school would lead Josh to Sheridan College in Wyoming where he would average 7.3 points and 3.4 assists per game over two seasons, making a name for himself with collegiate coaches around the country. One of those coaches was ART U first-year head coach Scott Waterman, who knew that Josh had that something special.
 
"When I got the job last April, JB was the first recruit I targeted," Waterman said. "In researching him, all I heard was that he was a leader and a winner. On top of that, when told about his brother, I knew he was a guy I wanted in my program, because he had a chip on his shoulder and was playing for something bigger."
 
Waterman would end up landing his first recruit, and Josh would pack up and head west for the City by the Bay. While he was used to life in a big city like Durham, Josh had never experienced an area like San Francisco.
 
"Durham is big, but it's not as condensed as San Francisco," Josh said. "It's definitely been different, city-wise and basketball-wise. The transition was a little bit hard because of the time difference compared to Durham, it changed my communication back home. I was looking for a good school for basketball where I could just play and be free. Also, the [Communications & Media Technologies] major, just being there was fun. It was a new experience, but it was fun."
 
While the introduction to the city had its challenges, the transition on the court was much more seamless, effortlessly fitting into the Urban Knights under Waterman. In his first season at ART U, Josh led the team with a total of 79 assists, an average of 2.8 per game, a mark that placed him 11th in the Pacific West Conference. The team experienced success too, winning 12 games and setting single-season program records for points (2,105), rebounds (1,115), assists (434), and field goals made (781) en route to the Urban Knights' second straight visit to the PacWest Tournament.
 
"JB was a major factor in our team tying the record for wins in a season and making the conference tournament for the second time in the history of the school," Waterman said. "I know he is going to have a great senior campaign on the floor and complete his degree off of it."

Despite being a fan of point guards, including Isaiah Thomas, Stephen Curry and Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Durant being his favorite player, Josh has developed a style that has been shaped by the players and coaches who he has met along his journey. It has allowed him to develop an eye for great basketball and instill in him great habits. He doesn't try to take anyone else's game, but rather be the best to his abilities as he can be. As he heads into this season, his only focus is going out making some noise.
 
"Since I'm a senior, I just want to go as far as we can and win as much as we can, go out with a bang," Josh said. "When I sum up my whole senior career, I want it to show that I went out with a big bang."
 
As he has done his whole life, he'll be playing for not only himself, but for Aaron, too.