ANAHIEM, Calif. -- It's easy to define Stanford by its 7-foot sophomore twin towers, Brook and Robin Lopez. Where would the Cardinal, seeded third in the South Region entering Saturday's second-round game against sixth-seeded Marquette, be without the slam-dunking, shot-blocking terrors?
But any suggestion that basketball defines the biggest men on campus gets thrown back like so many shots at the Cardinal basket.
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| Brook Lopez is more offensively polished than twin brother Robin and is a better pro prospect right now. (Getty Images) |
"I've been able to do great things with my height," said Robin Lopez, who is dating Stanford's most famous student, golfer Michelle Wie, a relationship they both have tried to keep quiet.
"The one negative is that everybody perceives you as a basketball player. I don't enjoy being labeled a basketball player."
That was something their mother set out to ensure wouldn't happen at an early age. A swimmer who reached the United States Olympic trials while she was majoring in German at Stanford in the late '60s, Deborah Ledford led by example for her four boys -- Alex, who played basketball at Washington and Santa Clara a decade ago, Chris, Brook and Robin. Their father, Heriberto Lopez, played baseball for Cuba in the Pan-American Games during the 1960s, but the twins haven't seen him since he left home when they were five years old.
When the boys were young, Ledford's mother -- as she did for all her grandchildren -- presented Brook and Robin with an art box each Christmas. It contained paper, scissors, markers, chalk, pencils, paint and brushes.
"You name it," said Ledford, who has a sister who is an architect and a brother who is a city planner and dabbles in painting. Their late grandmother also showered them with books, and encouraged them as they built a collection of Disney figures.
"It's family values," Ledford said. "We have athletes, yeah, but we have artists, teachers, mathematicians. They're simply an extension of that. I just tried to do what my parents did with us -- give us opportunities and encouragement."
Though they are identical twins, Ledford encouraged them to forge their own identity -- something she recalls them having from an early age. She remembers them as 2-year-olds, Brook bouncing a basketball while Robin sat nearby drawing pictures.
"Brook's always been the extrovert, more fiery," Ledford said. "Robin's more of the introvert -- you know, still waters run deep. Robin's a really nice person, no need to be loud. His hair reflects his individuality. When they were younger, it was time to go to the barber and he said, 'No, I don't want to cut my hair.' My feeling was it's his head. That's one reflection of his individuality. They share a lot of common interests, but they're two different personalities."
Their teammates agree.
"Everything is real serious with Robin off the court," guard Anthony Goods said. "He's a real competitor. Brook, he's kind of laid back, has a little more fun. But you know ..."
