Junior guard Nate Pierre-Louis remembers beating his brother freshman guard Josh Pierre-Louis in pickup basketball games.
Now, the brothers will play together on Temple University men’s basketball team.
The brothers played for Roselle Catholic High School in Roselle, New Jersey and were teammates there for a year.
They are the first two brothers in the program’s history to play together.
“Playing with my brother is ridiculous,” Josh Pierre-Louis said. “That’s my best friend. We grew up together. Ever since I was six years old, I wanted to be just like him. He’s great to have.”
Josh Pierre-Louis led Roselle Catholic to a 28-4 record during his senior year. He averaged 14.2 points and 3.4 assists per game and led the school to the New Jersey state championship last season.
He originally committed to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in September 2018 but decided to open up his recruitment after UNLV’s former coach Marvin Menzies was fired in March. He committed to Temple two weeks later.
Having his brother on the team was a factor in Josh Pierre-Louis’ decision, but he still would have chosen Temple even if his brother played somewhere else, he said.
“Coming here with Coach [Aaron McKie], that was another coach that I felt had my better being and would allow me to blossom into a person that he believed I could be,” Josh Pierre-Louis said.
Nate Pierre-Louis has noticed improvements in his brother’s game since he arrived at Temple, like his brother’s jump shot.
“He got a lot better,” Nate Pierre-Louis said. “It’s gonna get a lot [more] competitive now. He’s really fast. Sometimes, he’ll get the best of me a couple of times.”
McKie has noticed the brothers’ aggressiveness during practice.
“What I really like is how they compete against one another in practice,” McKie said. “It’s really highly competitive when they play against each other, and I want them to take that into the games.”
Last season, Nate Pierre-Louis ranked fifth in The American Athletic Conference with 1.6 steals per game and 19th in rebounds with 5.7 per game. He has 78 steals during his two-year career at Temple, including 53 last season.
Like his brother, Josh Pierre-Louis is also known as a defensive player, McKie said. He had 69 steals with Roselle Catholic last season.
“I think Josh is a little better with the ball,” McKie said. “I would lean more toward him being a lead guard than Nate. Nate’s a guy you can advance the ball with and advance the ball to and make plays from that wing position. Both of those guys have footspeed. Both of those guys are incredible athletes, and I think they can be outstanding defenders.”
Nate Pierre-Louis said having his brother on the same team allows him to act as a role model.
“It’s awesome,” Nate Pierre-Louis said. “You always wanna have your little baby brother with you. My parents always told me I’m my brother’s keeper, so I try my best to do that job every single day.”
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