Meet three sibling duos hoopin' it up on Long Island

Chemistry is always touted as a major cause for success, no more so than in basketball given the quick movement on and off the ball. Yet some of Long Island’s most impressive players this winter have had that connection long before they donned a high school varsity jersey.

Here are three sibling duos currently lighting up Long Island high school hoops.

Jaiya and Julian Vera, Valley Stream Central

Before twins Jaiya and Julian Vera took the floor for Valley Stream Central, there was older brother Jayden.

Now the school’s junior varsity coach, Jayden was also Valley Stream Central coach Michael Wimmer’s first captain when he took over the program four years ago. Alongside their father, Jason, Jaiya and Julian remember watching Jayden at practices or games, time the twins attribute to their growing love for basketball.

On the court today, though, Jaiya averages 15.3 points per game and Julian averages 9.6 points, with both juniors adding steady playmaking and rebounding.

“Every single day when we were younger, we would just play in the front and have fun,” Julian said. “We enjoy playing basketball, and that just keeps going.”

But just because they have fun doesn’t mean they aren’t pushing each other. Both brothers admitted to trying to best the other, whether that’s via stats or film.

“It’s really competitive,” Julian said. “We always want to be better than one another.”

Jaiya usually wins that argument — at least according to him — and the duo has had a lifetime to argue it having played together long before varsity.

“We both know each other's strengths,” Julian said.

He trailed off, struggling to find the words. His brother stepped in.

“Playing with him on the court just comes easier to me because I’ve been playing with him for most of my life,” Jaiya said. “I always know where he’s going to be. It’s easier for me on the court whenever I play when he’s on the court with me.”

For a Valley Stream Central team making a playoff push, that connection should only continue to pay off just as it has for the twins themselves.

A’Mauri Whitty and Allan Whitty Jr., Center Moriches

A year after Center Moriches boys basketball’s first playoff appearance in four years, brothers Allan Whitty Jr. and A’Mauri Whitty have helped make 2025-26 even better.

Growing up and living in Mastic, the Whitty brothers are two of many Center Moriches students that live on the Poospatuck Reservation. From pick-up games at a local park, Allan says they’d “play for hours, just one-on-one, working on our defense.”

The usual winner? Allan, with the junior having two years on his freshman brother. Initially he had focused on soccer, only taking basketball seriously upon joining A’Mauri’s AAU team at 10 years old.

“When I think about basketball, I’m thinking about the first time I played and took it seriously,” Allan said. “I feel like I’ve progressed a lot from then to now.”

“He didn’t even want to play basketball before he came to my practice,” A’Mauri said.

Now Allan is one of the leading scorers in Suffolk, with his 17.4 points per game. A’Mauri averages 7.9 points in his first varsity season.

“I feel like [our communication] is good,” A’Mauri said. “I got my big brother with me.”

Center Moriches has already notched signature wins, with A’Mauri’s 16 points helping to hand Shoreham-Wading River its first loss and Allan’s game-high 27 points helping to beat a strong Knox team.

“Sticking to the plan, communicating more, hanging out more off the court,” Allan said. “Everybody is just like a family now during practice, compared to last year.”

The family you choose is so often as important as the family you have. Fortunately for Allan and A’Mauri, they get the best of both worlds with the Red Devils.

Austin and Mariyah Darr, Herricks

Siblings don’t necessarily need to play on the same team to make each other better. All Herricks twins Austin and Mariyah Darr needed growing up was a ball and a hoop.

“We played throughout the summer a lot,” Austin said. “We would learn off each other’s mistakes and teach each other how to become a better shooter. Just repetition, staying out there until 10 o'clock at night, just shooting.”

Now seniors for Herricks, the pair credit their basketball introduction to mother Vaneysha — who Austin noted “is always there for me” — and brother Joshua, who graduated from Herricks in 2022.

“I watched him play high school basketball when I was younger,” Mariyah said. “My mom also always had basketball on when we were younger, so we had to watch it.”

Basketball practices often result in a late return home for the Darr twins while the rest of the house rests. That means more time spent between the twins.

“Being twins, it helps a lot because we’re always together,” Austin said. “It feels like you’re never alone, in a sense. I comment on her film a lot, trying to help her by saying, ‘You had that shot over there, make that cut,’ things like that.”

“We just try to make each other better,” Mariyah said.

Austin sits among Nassau’s leading scorers with 17.8 points per game. Mariyah is averaging 9.4 points per game. What connects the siblings — beyond the obvious, at least — is their three-point shooting. Austin has 32 three-pointers to Mariyah’s 30, something the former remembers fondly from those late-night shooting days in the driveway.

“She definitely helps me a lot, emotionally,” Austin said. “Because she’s always there for me, whenever I need.”

Added Mariyah, “We’re like best friends, you know?”