Twins making everyone see double for new-look Patriots

Opposing coaches will be seeing double this year when they play the Ellender boy’s basketball team.

Literally.

That’s because the Patriots are receiving contributions from twin brothers Jamehl and Jamahl Payton.

While the boys’ skill sets may differ slightly, coaches and teammates tout n there’s very little that separates the duo in looks.

“It’s hard. Especially with identical twins it’s hard because I barely know the difference between them,” Ellender coach Scott Gauthreaux said with a laugh. “It’s unfortunate because I’ve been coaching them for three years, but they look so much alike it’s hard for me to pick them apart.”

Jamahl is the older of the twins, being born 20 minutes before Jamehl.

From the earliest days of their childhood, the boys said they often dressed the same and were always compared to one another n even if people had no idea how to tell them apart.

“As kids, we’d always be dressed alike and everything like that,” Jamehl said. “People expected us to be the same person because of how we looked and everything.”

With so many people comparing the boys growing up, both twins say they were very competitive n especially in sports.

“We’d do it all,” Jamahl said. “Whether playing on the same team or on different teams, we’d always be out there doing something.”

But sports wasn’t the No. 1 thing that would pit the up and coming boys against one another as children n that would be the kitchen.

One serving of food and two twins competing for that last bite often put the young brothers to playful blows, they say.

“We’d get in fights a lot,” Jamehl said. “We’d fight over food and stuff. Nothing major, just stupid stuff like that.”

As for who would win these household quarrels, they both agree it’d be about a 50/50 shot.

“It was like the last piece of food and he’d try to take it and you know, I’d hit him with a cup or something,” Jamahl said. “You know, then he’d hit me back and it’d be on. He’d get the food sometimes and I’d get it sometimes. I guess that’s why we weigh the same.”

In terms of physical features, there is little that sets the Ellender twins apart.

“There’s only a few people who can tell accurately all of the time,” Jamehl said.

Jamahl admits he has a slight indention in his front teeth that Jamehl doesn’t have.

Jamahl also is quick to point out that Jamehl has a bigger nose than he does. But unlike the front teeth comparison, the accusation about nose sizes doesn’t go unchallenged.

“My nose isn’t messed up,” Jamehl said. “I don’t know why he’s saying that.”

That unquestioned resemblance has often confused opponents, coaches and classmates. The boys have admitted to swapping identities a few times when needed.

Those efforts weren’t quite as successful.

“We’ve switched out in class a lot as kids,” Jamehl said. “We’ve gotten caught a couple of times, though.”

On the basketball court, the Payton’s make things a little bit easier on their opponents. Jamahl injured his knee earlier in his playing career, which forces him to wear a brace during the games, which his brother doesn’t have to wear.

“I can tell by the way they play because one of them has an injured knee. I know by the knee brace,” Gauthreaux said. “Before I really knew them, before one of them started wearing the knee brace, I used to ask them, ‘OK, give me the happy twin,’ or ‘OK, give me the sad twin.’ It seemed like one of them was always happy and the other one was always frowning. That’s their personality.”

Which one is the “happy” twin or the “sad” twin n that might depend on the day, because both brothers claim to hold that title.

“I’m cool, I’m calm. I’m laid back,” Jamahl said. “I’m definitely not the sad twin.”

“That’s not me,” Jamehl added when asked if he was the sad twin. “I’m the funny one and the serious one. I clown around, but I’m serious when I need to be.”

Where they sometimes bicker off the court, the boys both claim to be one another’s best friend, which their teammates and coach say shows on the basketball court.

“When they are on the floor together, they almost half like a sixth sense,” Gauthreaux said. “It’s like they know where each other are and its kind of amazing the things they’re able to do.”

Who would win a one-on-one game between the guys?

They both claim victory in that one n with their teammates doing little to break the tie.

“I don’t know who would win because I can’t even tell them apart,” senior Trey Alexander said. “I think the one with the knee brace would win. That’s Jamahl I think.”

Fellow senior Carlton Stadium sees the matchup a different way.

“I think Jamehl. I think the one without the knee brace. So it’s still tied,” he said.

Regardless of their basketball prowess, the twins both plan to enlist in the Air Force following graduation and become mechanical electricians.

No matter what life holds, when anyone sees Jamahl or Jamehl, they’ll be seeing double forever, because the boys plan to stick together.

“We have our moments, but we’re a team,” Jamahl said. “That’s my brother. We’re always going to stick together n in basketball and just in life.”

Pictured are Ellender’s identical twins Jamahl (left) and Jamehl Payton. The twins are known for their uncanny resemblance and some only tell the boys apart by Jamahl’s knee brace he wears on the floor. CASEY GISCLAIR