The world of sports is rife with cliches. Words like brotherhood and family get thrown around all the time in loose appeals to Hollywood ideas about halftime speeches.
But Hunter and Garrett Vick — both of whom play for the Union men’s basketball team — are actually brothers, and for them Union athletics is a family affair.
They have been playing basketball together ever since they were old enough to dribble up and down the sides of the court where their dad coached volleyball, but they never thought they would get to play basketball together — on the same team. That did not seem like a possibility until recently.
“I would say growing up we were always competing.”
Hunter glances toward his little brother while talking. There is an acknowledgment between them that all siblings know; that little visual that plays in your head when you reference a part of growing up together. A core memory, if you will.
Hunter keeps going.
“My dad’s been coaching volleyball ever since I was born, and since [Garrett] was born too, so we’ve been in the gym ever since we could walk. So I mean as early as we could walk we were playing basketball.”
There is a uniqueness to sibling relationships, a law of equal but opposite powers of love and the ability to make each other see red at the drop of a hat. Competitiveness, basketball and just being brothers made for exactly the right recipe for a rivalry.
So you played together growing up?
The Vicks share a wry glance at each other. Their gestures are the same; it is pretty obvious they are brothers. Hunter replies first.
“There were several fights growing up over basketball. Now it’s just such a cool experience, being able to practice with him every day. Not everyone gets to do that.”
“I like guarding him in practice,” Garrett says. “It’s like old times, playing one-on-one.”
The brothers do not fight anymore, but there is still a rivalry there, alongside a strong camaraderie.
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What’s it like playing as brothers on the same team?
The room feels like I told a joke because they laugh out loud at the question.
“Right now?” Hunter asks. “The joker is guarding me every day in practice.”
A little of that childhood rivalry is still hanging around. When they play together now, though, the “dog mentality” is accompanied by healthy respect — after all, no one knows what they do best better than each other.
“We just know each other’s moves, so it’s hard to score at times on each other,” Hunter commentates on their practice matchups.
“I think there sorta is a rivalry.” Garrett takes their matchups seriously: “When I go to guard him every day in practice, it just starts with, ‘I don’t wanna let him score on me.’”
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The Vick brothers may be having the time of their lives playing for the same team now, but that once looked like a pipedream. Hunter spent the first three years of his college basketball career at Tennessee Tech University. In the offseason two years ago, though, he started thinking about making a change.
“I was kind of dreading going back. We talked about it a lot and prayed about it a lot and ultimately decided to see if there was some options for me to transfer. And we found out that there was a spot at Union, and there was already a relationship there with Coach Niven. And as soon as he asked me to come, I didn’t want to entertain anything else. That’s where I want to be — my sister’s here, it’s our home.”
Home is a fitting word. Jordan Vick, Hunter and Garrett’s sister, plays for the Union volleyball team. Their father played basketball for Union in college as well. There is a legacy in place; it is a family affair.
The last puzzle piece fell into place a year later, when Garrett joined his older siblings on campus. He had always known he wanted to come to Union — that much was for sure, regardless of basketball. Then he got a chance to workout for the basketball coaches.
“They had a few tryouts for a walk-on position. And they ultimately ended up picking him.” Hunter tells the story proudly. “Whenever he was at that tryout, that’s when we realized there was an opportunity for us to play together. And looking back, I was in my coaches ears. Hints here and there. Hey, this would be pretty neat.”
Brotherhood on the basketball court was suddenly a real possibility once again. The rarity of that experience is not lost on the Vicks. The way they banter back and forth, their connection over basketball — it is pretty obvious they are taking it all in. Garrett pauses to emphasize the importance, the meaningfulness, of what he is about to say:
“We never actually got to play on the same team [growing up] because we’ve always been one year apart. But him redshirting, getting the COVID year, now we’re able to do that. It’s really cool. I don’t take it for granted — only got two years of it.”
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What’s a highlight moment of the time that you have had together on the basketball team so far?
Hunter’s answer is so ready it is like he knew the question was coming.
“My highlight moment was seeing his first bucket. He caught a pass in the corner, he jabbed right, drove toward the baseline, did like a stepback three. Knocked it down. Bench was going crazy. I was like dang, this guy’s really on my team. That’s my brother.”
Garrett pauses to get ready to answer the question himself, “Man, you had an easy one.”
He takes another moment to think, eyes darting around between the table and the TV over my left shoulder playing ESPN on a loop.
“He’s had some tough blocks this year, if I could just brag on him for a bit. What game was it? Tuskegee, he got up — I mean got up — sent some dude. It was pretty cool. Being on the bench, being like, ‘That’s my brother.’”
They are on the same page: emphasizing each other.
“That’s my brother.”
Photo by Laila Al-Hagal