Brothers Renew A Rivalry When Creighton Plays San Diego State

LOUISVILLE (Ky.) -- There will be a moment Sunday when Creighton’s Arthur Kaluma (6-foot-7 sophomore) is isolated against San Diego State’s Adam Seiko (6-foot-3 senior). Each player is determined to take their team to the Final Four for the very first time.

They won't be the only ones to lock eyes and viciously attack each other.

They are brothers, after all

Kaluma said, "Surreal," as he watched from the tunnel when Seiko made the decisive 3-pointer in San Diego State’s upset of Alabama. Then, he helped Creighton defeat Princeton in the South Regional semifinals. It's an incredible experience to watch my brother play and then have the opportunity to play against him, especially at this level.

The most amazing thing is that their brother and their family went through this last season, when Creighton overcame a 9 point deficit in the final minutes to beat San Diego State in overtime in Fort Worth's first round.

The game was played near the Coppell Family Y.M.C.A. gym, which is located close to their old home in Lewisville Texas. Kaluma made many impressions on his big sibling.

This is where Kaluma defeated Seiko in the first one-on-one match. It also is where Kaluma, five years older and four inches taller than Seiko, head-butted his brother on a drive towards the basket. Seiko suffered a half-inch gash on the left eyelid, which required nine stitches.

Seiko stated, "I think you still can see the scar," Saturday. He closed his eyes and offered a clear view to reporters and cameramen gathered around.

They carried on as brothers. Both were proud of one another, but they also made sure the other knew his place. Seiko rolled his eyes as Kaluma boasted that his brother couldn't guard him and that Creighton would win again.

Seiko stated, "He's just trolling"

What happened last year?

Late Friday night, Kaluma stated that he didn't want any excuses for how you guys treated us. We won the game at night. They have a chance of evening the score, so we must not let that happen. My bro must win by 2-0.

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Recent trends suggest that sibling rivalries are becoming more common on a national level.

When the Chiefs defeated the Eagles in the Super Bowl this year, Travis Kelce from Kansas City and Jason Kelce from Philadelphia were playing against each other. Although they never went head-to-head, the Nola brothers did so in October's National League Championship Series. Austin, San Diego catcher, delivered a crucial hit against Aaron, a Philadelphia pitcher. The Phillies won the series, though the Padres won the game.

On Sunday, there will not be any consolation prizes.

Eva and Patrick Ariko, their parents and two of their young daughters, Abigail (10 and Anna (8 years old), will comfort the loser and celebrate the winner. This is exactly what they did last year. The brothers have tickets to Sunday's game at both the San Diego State or Creighton sections. This is exactly what they did last year, when they changed seats at halftime.

Patrick laughed and said, "This year, maybe we will just go neutral." "Plastic white T-shirts, and sit up high in the bleachers.

Patrick, a Ugandan national, immigrated to the United States in the mid-1980s after feeling unsafe following a change of power. He said that he was identified as someone who could have been groomed to work against his tribe. He met Eva while settling in Los Angeles. She had two children by then: Adam, who she was pregnant with in the United States when she arrived from Uganda in 1998, as well as Arthur, who was less that a year.

He said, "I was smitten."

Eva said that Patrick and she were meant to be together. She married him in 2008. They moved to Dallas, then to Phoenix where they now reside. "It's been, for him, 'I take it with all you bring with me.'

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Patrick introduced the boys to soccer as a child, but Adam was soon bitten by the basketball bug. Arthur also followed Patrick's lead, running on the court during halftime breaks and timeouts during Adam's youth games.

Arthur watched his older brother Arthur as he grew older. He was meticulous in studying the game and working in the gym. He asked his older brother for help with his ball handling when he was in middle-school. Adam built a set of cones in their front yard in California to practice dribbling.

Arthur stated that if I would mess up a drill more times than three, he would just walk away and say, "Man, you're never going get this." That kind of pain is common in young people.

Arthur persevered and, while Adam was heading to San Diego State University, Arthur grew up. Arthur had already surpassed his brother when he entered highschool. They soon began to play competitive games against one another -- and Arthur's indomitable self confidence found a home.

What age did he believe he could beat his brother at?

Arthur stated, "Ever since I picked up a basket, I believed I could beat him one on one." "It was never a question about if it would take me a few years to beat you," Arthur said. It was no, you can beat me now.

After Arthur drew a second team and a foul when he posted Adam up in last year’s game, he reminded Adam that he needed reinforcements in order to rein him in.

Eva stated, "Even though Arthur can be feisty at times, he looks up towards his brother -- a lot." It's beautiful to watch.

Patrick said, "Adam has been a good older brother." He didn't kill the competitive spirit he saw in Arthur, but rather nurtured and managed it.

Both brothers can be seen as avatars of the teams they helped to reach this point. Adam is one of three sophomores who will be starting for the Bluejays at high speed. He is more flexible than his fellow wingmen.

Their mother stated that she will take her seat on Sunday with great pride and expects to be flooded with memories of the children playing in the front yard with a mini-basketball hoops.

Some of these thoughts were rushed in Friday night.

Arthur ran onto the court after San Diego State won its upset and celebrated with his family before he had to go to Princeton.