Basketball coaches love when a team's chemistry is so good that the players seem like a family. The UA women's basketball team is taking that notion to a whole new level.
With two sets of twins on the Arizona roster, the Cats have part of that family atmosphere built-in.
"It makes the team closer," UA coach Joan Bonvicini said. "You always say your team is like a family, like sisters. Well, we genuinely are."
The twins on the UA women's basketball team have generated plenty of positive publicity and attention. But Beatrice and Suzy Bofia, the tall, lean junior college transfers from Yaoundé, Cameroon, and Rhaya and Rheya Neabors, the freshmen from Pomona, Calif., provide much more than a spectacle for fans. They're talented players expected to make an immediate impact. Because they have played together for so long, they know each others' tendencies.
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Bonvicini has learned that even though the sisters are their own people with different personalities and interests, they can be fiercely protective of each other. She called Georgia coach Andy Landers, who has coached several twins, including Coco and Kelly Miller. He told her that if she were to yell at one twin, the other might get angry.
Beatrice, the older of the Bofia sisters, agrees that can happen.
"When she compliments my sister, if my sister is doing good, that means I'm good too," she said. The Neabors sisters hinted they might be more open to criticism.
"If coach is yelling at her, it's probably for a reason," said Rheya, the older sister. "I'm not going to get mad."
The twins pique their teammates' curiosity. After Beatrice hurt her knee early this month, senior guard Joy Hollingsworth was full of questions.
"I tried to figure out if one gets hurt, does the other one feel the pain?" she said. "Do they know what each other is thinking and finish each other's sentences? That seems to not be the case. She's not feeling pain at all."
Strength and radiance
Rhaya grows tired of people confusing her with her sister. But it is difficult to tell them apart. Both have shoulder-length, black hair. They have matching noses and matching eyes. They appear to be the same height and weight. Even their dad, Bob, has trouble telling them apart.
"When they're separate, I have to concentrate on which one is which," he said from California earlier this month. "And they don't like to be called each other's names."
That their names are so similar does not help matters. Bob Neabors said he wanted a son, so he let his wife, Margaret, name the family's youngest daughters.
"At least I got basketball players," Bob said.
Because she was older by two minutes, Rheya is named after "Rhea" meaning "strength of a column," Margaret said. "Raya" refers to "radiant" or "light;" she was to be the family's last child. Margaret said their personalities reflect their names because Rheya is more quiet and Rhaya is usually smiling.
"We asked them if they wanted to change their names," Margaret said. "People ask why they were named the same. George Foreman did it, too (with his sons)."
The parents focus on their daughters' slight differences to identify them. Rheya is left-handed and Rhaya is right-handed. Rheya is also a half-inch taller. Margaret said Rheya has a rounder face.
Rhaya also parts her hair to the side. Rheya likes country music, while Rhaya is not such a fan. Rheya sometimes wears colored-contacts, either in honey or gray.
Although they wanted to attend the same school, choosing the UA over Oklahoma, they are not inseparable. They hang out with different friends.
"They're working on not being in need of each other," Margaret said. "They can go their separate ways and not feel the pressure of being apart."
On the court, Rhaya describes herself as more finesse and Rheya as more physical. Bonvicini said Rheya probably is a better shooter, and that Rhaya will play everywhere from the point to the wing while Rheya, with her bigger size, will be a wing and a post.
Their statistics as high school seniors were also eerily similar — both averaged 13 points and two assists per game, and Rheya averaged one more rebound per game.
"They're going to get better every game they play," Bonvicini said. "They're just solid and versatile. They just don't make a lot of mistakes. They're very good for freshmen."
'It's good to be tall'
Also identical, the Bofias are easier to tell apart. Beatrice is an inch and a half taller at 6 feet 7 1/2 inches. They also wear their hair differently, either in braids or straight. Beatrice said she talks and eats more, but they both love to dance to African music.
Beatrice also sets herself apart with her ability to dunk. Suzy said she can also dunk, but does not like to because she does not want to hurt her knee.
"Her dunking is very good, but she has to be careful," Suzy said.
They are also different players. Suzy was more of a low-post player, an adept passer who could score from 15 feet, said Steve Garber, the Bofias' coach at Illinois Central College. Beatrice wanted to play farther from the basket.
Suzy averaged 12.8 points and 9.6 rebounds, and Beatrice added 4.3 points and 3.4 rebounds in helping the school win the Division II junior college national title. The sisters didn't play on the court at the same time — Garber said the team was better that way — but Bonvicini is planning to use both at the same time.
"I can't wait to give people fits," she said.
The Bofias already have attracted major national attention. Bonvicini said Guinness World Records representatives could visit the UA in January to measure the sisters to determine if they are the world's tallest female twins. American University freshmen volleyball players Ann and Claire Recht currently have that distinction. Guinness lists them as 6-6 and 6-59/10, but they claim to have grown to 6-7 1/2 and 6-7 1/4.
"We have to see them face to face because it is hard to believe someone is taller than me," Beatrice said. "It's good to be tall. Having twins who are tall is two times better."
The Wildcats are finding that to be the case.
"Beatrice and Suzy stand out in a crowd, but they're very well proportioned, very athletic," Bonvicini said. "It's interesting to hear them talk. They're very proud to be here, and they want to do so well."
THe Bofia twins
l 6-7 1/2
l Likes to dunk
l Played away from the basket in junior college
l 6-6
l Does not like to dunk
l Played frontcourt in junior college
THe Neabors twins
l Right-handed
l 6-1
l Has a slimmer face
l Left-handed
l 6-1 1/2
l Has a rounder face
