CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Brotherly love?
Not exactly.
Not after they’re playing against one another, which can be the case when Long Island half-brothers Zakai Zeigler from Tennessee and Armoni Zeigler from Saint Peter’s square off in Thursday’s NCAA Tournament opening-round game on the Spectrum Center.
Wednesday brought some comic relief with Zakai, the Vols point guard, delivering a tongue-in-cheek trashing of his younger brother, Armoni, who’s a freshman for the 15-seed Peacocks.
Armoni had just finished telling reporters that Zakai was up 6-5 on him in one-on-one battles after which Zakai took the rostrum.
“To clear the air, he’s never beat me one-on-one,’’ Zakai said. “He’s not even close within the series in any respect. And he’s not even close in his scores. I might say every little thing he does, I do a bit of bit higher, aside from athleticism and height. That’s the one two things that he has higher than me, athleticism and height.
“Every thing else, I do higher times probably about five.’’
For the record, Armoni is 6-foot-4, 185 kilos and averages 6.4 points per game, and Zakai is 5-9, 171 kilos and averages 11.9 points per game.
“I’m more athletic than him and he’s a midget — what’s he, 5-7, 5-6?’’ Armoni joked.
For all of the sarcasm, the 2 are embracing this rare moment as two brothers playing against one another in an NCAA Tournament game.
“After we were kids, we all the time dreamed about something like this, but never thought it might come true,’’ Armoni told The Post.
“It’s really cool,’’ Zakai said. “Not too again and again that two brothers face off in a big-time tournament like this. Our parents, they’re just so completely happy for us. I can’t wait to get on the market and just go on the market and get the win.
“Me and him, we’re two competitive people. We’ve gotten in loads of fights just over us being competitive. At the tip of the day, it’s still a team sport. Me and my team, we’re really competitive as a team. I’m undecided how they’re on their team, but on our end, we’re really competitive. We’re going to do whatever it takes to go on the market and get the win.
“Once we step between the lines, whether it’s my friend, my brother, whoever it’s — whether it’s my dad — it doesn’t matter, I’m attempting to go on the market and win.’’
Asked what it’ll be like playing against one another, Armoni said, “It’s going to be a dogfight on the market.
“It’s going to be an incredible, emotional moment, but I can’t get too emotional about it. After we play tomorrow, he’s not my brother. After the sport, he’s my brother, but not now.’’
As Armoni was talking to The Post courtside, with the Saint Peter’s hour-long shootaround practice having ended, the Tennessee players were running onto the court for his or her session and Zakai ran over and hugged his half-brother, younger by two years.
“That was an incredible moment right there,’’ Armoni said after the embrace. “He means every little thing to me. That’s my brother. That’s my heart. That’s my world. I like him to death.’’
Armoni described his brother as “scrappy, fast, he creates shots for himself and for his teammates … he’s an incredible guard.’’
He described himself as “downhill, a transition demon, I can hit open shots, I’m very athletic.’’
Zakai and Armoni are half-brothers by birth.
They share a father and a final name.
“We don’t do the half-brother thing,” Ryan O’Malley, Armoni’s stepfather, told the Knoxville News Sentinel. “They’re brothers. They give the impression of being at themselves as brothers. There’s no half-brother about it.”
Charmane, Zakai’s mother and Armoni’s stepmother, told the Knoxville News Sentinel: “I watched these little boys when this was their dream.’’
Now they’re all living their dream — from Long Island to North Carolina on the most important stage.
Each brothers wear No. 5 for his or her respective teams, their shared favorite number.
On Thursday, they’ll share the identical floor.
“Those two have an incredible bond,” Vols forward Tobe Awaka said.
“I believe it’s going to be an incredible moment for each of them,” Tennessee guard Santiago Vescovi said.
An awesome moment, indeed.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Brotherly love?
Not exactly.
Not after they’re playing against one another, which can be the case when Long Island half-brothers Zakai Zeigler from Tennessee and Armoni Zeigler from Saint Peter’s square off in Thursday’s NCAA Tournament opening-round game on the Spectrum Center.
Wednesday brought some comic relief with Zakai, the Vols point guard, delivering a tongue-in-cheek trashing of his younger brother, Armoni, who’s a freshman for the 15-seed Peacocks.
Armoni had just finished telling reporters that Zakai was up 6-5 on him in one-on-one battles after which Zakai took the rostrum.
“To clear the air, he’s never beat me one-on-one,’’ Zakai said. “He’s not even close within the series in any respect. And he’s not even close in his scores. I might say every little thing he does, I do a bit of bit higher, aside from athleticism and height. That’s the one two things that he has higher than me, athleticism and height.
“Every thing else, I do higher times probably about five.’’
For the record, Armoni is 6-foot-4, 185 kilos and averages 6.4 points per game, and Zakai is 5-9, 171 kilos and averages 11.9 points per game.
“I’m more athletic than him and he’s a midget — what’s he, 5-7, 5-6?’’ Armoni joked.
For all of the sarcasm, the 2 are embracing this rare moment as two brothers playing against one another in an NCAA Tournament game.
“After we were kids, we all the time dreamed about something like this, but never thought it might come true,’’ Armoni told The Post.
“It’s really cool,’’ Zakai said. “Not too again and again that two brothers face off in a big-time tournament like this. Our parents, they’re just so completely happy for us. I can’t wait to get on the market and just go on the market and get the win.
“Me and him, we’re two competitive people. We’ve gotten in loads of fights just over us being competitive. At the tip of the day, it’s still a team sport. Me and my team, we’re really competitive as a team. I’m undecided how they’re on their team, but on our end, we’re really competitive. We’re going to do whatever it takes to go on the market and get the win.
“Once we step between the lines, whether it’s my friend, my brother, whoever it’s — whether it’s my dad — it doesn’t matter, I’m attempting to go on the market and win.’’
Asked what it’ll be like playing against one another, Armoni said, “It’s going to be a dogfight on the market.
“It’s going to be an incredible, emotional moment, but I can’t get too emotional about it. After we play tomorrow, he’s not my brother. After the sport, he’s my brother, but not now.’’
As Armoni was talking to The Post courtside, with the Saint Peter’s hour-long shootaround practice having ended, the Tennessee players were running onto the court for his or her session and Zakai ran over and hugged his half-brother, younger by two years.
“That was an incredible moment right there,’’ Armoni said after the embrace. “He means every little thing to me. That’s my brother. That’s my heart. That’s my world. I like him to death.’’
Armoni described his brother as “scrappy, fast, he creates shots for himself and for his teammates … he’s an incredible guard.’’
He described himself as “downhill, a transition demon, I can hit open shots, I’m very athletic.’’
Zakai and Armoni are half-brothers by birth.
They share a father and a final name.
“We don’t do the half-brother thing,” Ryan O’Malley, Armoni’s stepfather, told the Knoxville News Sentinel. “They’re brothers. They give the impression of being at themselves as brothers. There’s no half-brother about it.”
Charmane, Zakai’s mother and Armoni’s stepmother, told the Knoxville News Sentinel: “I watched these little boys when this was their dream.’’
Now they’re all living their dream — from Long Island to North Carolina on the most important stage.
Each brothers wear No. 5 for his or her respective teams, their shared favorite number.
On Thursday, they’ll share the identical floor.
“Those two have an incredible bond,” Vols forward Tobe Awaka said.
“I believe it’s going to be an incredible moment for each of them,” Tennessee guard Santiago Vescovi said.
An awesome moment, indeed.
