By Drew Williams/sports editor

To them, the basketball court seems more like a home than a place to shoot hoops.

Members of 4’s Up, South Campus’ basketball team that won the District Cup intramural tournament April 2, have played basketball together on an almost daily basis since they were in junior high, and some even before that.

Denzel Jones, Marcus McAdoo and Chris Franklin have been playing together for more than 10 years.

“Me, Marcus and Chris have been hooping since elementary school, since we were really young,” Jones said.

The three stayed friends and played basketball together through junior high and high school, meeting 4’s Up teammates Richard Allen, Devin Woods and Brandon Brown along the way.

All except Brown played for Everman High School’s varsity basketball team.

Franklin and Jones said the chemistry that the team developed through high school helped them win the District Cup.

“The more time you play together, the better your team is going to be,” Franklin said.

“And we’ve been playing together a long time. I can’t even remember when we met. That’s how long it’s been.”

Jones said playing basketball isn’t the only way to have good chemistry.

“I remember one time we were down in San Angelo for a basketball tournament, and we decided to do something crazy. We snuck out in the middle of the night and went downstairs with the cheerleaders,” Jones said.

“But then we got caught by the coaches, and they weren’t too happy. We all got in a little bit of trouble.”

Even though Brown didn’t attend the same high school, Jones said the team was still good friends and had good chemistry with him through recreational play.

“We used to hoop with Brandon in Highland Hills, and he would come up to the high school to play sometimes,” Jones said.

“We knew he was good and knew he would fit on our team.”

Allen and Woods, who played football at Everman as well, proved for a second straight semester to be some of the best athletes at TCC.

Their flag football team, Team Savage, won the South Campus flag football intramurals last fall and finished second in district before losing to two-time defending champion Team AK from SE Campus.

Members of 4’s Up still get together multiple times a week to play at their local recreation center, which is one reason the team has kept playing well together even after graduating high school.

“We play every single day except for the weekends,” Franklin said.

For 4’s Up, sports can be more than just bouncing or throwing a ball. Playing the game is more than just winning or losing.

They’re more than just a team, Jones said.

“It’s made us real close, like really close,” he said. “We’re family now.”