The Hoophall Classic is no stranger to sibling duos. The Mingo brothers and Boozer twins both attended the showcase just last year. This year is no different. The 2026 Panini Hoophall Classic featured a pair of twins known as “The Twin Towers.” Twin brothers Darius and Adonis Ratliff led Archbishop Stepinac in a win against IMG Academy on Saturday in Blake Arena. Darius led by example, scoring a team-high 17 points and adding nine rebounds and six blocks. Adonis’ leadership came from the sidelines, as he has been nursing an injury since mid-December.
Darius, a 7-foot tall center is ESPN’s No. 26 ranked recruit and his brother Adonis, a seven foot forward, is ESPN’s No. 10 ranked recruit. Both brothers are signed to play basketball at the University of Southern California (USC) next winter.
It does not take much digging to discover the Ratliff twins’ passion for basketball. The brothers are sons of 16-year NBA veteran Theo Ratliff, who played for ten different teams from 1995-2010, and led the league in blocks three times. With a father in the NBA, it seemed obvious from a young age that Darius and Adonis were destined to be stars on the court.
“We started at an early age,” Adonis said. “Going to NBA games, falling in love with the game, (we) always had the basketball in our hands growing up.”
Darius and Adonis were born in Atlanta, Ga., but made the move up the East Coast to play high school basketball at Archbishop Stepinac High School, located in White Plains, N. Y., just outside of New York City.
As they entered their upperclassmen years, both brothers were four-star recruits out of high school. Both brothers received 15 offers, with multiple programs looking to recruit both members of the Twin Towers.
The twins visited Alabama in early September, before visiting USC a month later. Shortly after their visit to Los Angeles, the twins announced their commitment to the Trojans.
In the same way Darius and Adonis’ father Theo influenced their love of basketball at an early age, Theo had just as much of an influence on the recruiting trail. The commitment to USC made too much sense for the twins, as USC head coach Eric Musselman coached Theo Ratliff on the Atlanta Hawks in 2002. Adonis noted that Theo’s familiarity with Musselman and his style helped influence his decision to choose USC.
“Definetely, because my dad played with coach [Musselman], so he knew how the coaching environment was. And it’s an NBA staff too, so that’s [where] I want to be at,” said Adonis.
Darius echoed his brother’s words, but also noted how the relationship his family has with coach Musselman and how important that was in Darius’ recruitment.“From the beginning of my recruitment, my biggest thing was relationships, a coach that I could trust,” Darius said.
And trust coach Musselman they can, as not only does he have ties to the Ratliff family, he also has history coaching twin brothers. During Musselman’s time at the University of Nevada, he coached the Martin twins, Caleb and Cody from 2017-2019, and they had success, reaching the Elite 8 of the 2019 NCAA Tournament. Knowing his history with twins, Darius knew it was a shoe-in for him and his brother to be Trojans.
“That was definitely part of the recruitment. He said he wants to recruit twins, he usually recruits twins. Just for a coach to know how to coach twins, it was a big thing for us.”
The Ratliff brothers look forward to joining a strong Trojan team that currently sits at 14-4, but will not forget the high school that helped them improve to the level at which they are at today. Both Adonis and Darius remarked about what they want to be the ‘Ratliff legacy.’
“That we were the best twins, the best bigs,” said Adonis. “I don’t really think there’s a lot of people that (are) like us, so it’s hard to find. Maybe in another 50 years, who knows? But I think that we’re just different.”
Conversely, Darius wanted he and his brother’s name etched in history alongside his high school teammates.
“We’re going to four-peat,” said Darius. “We’re going to be national champions. We’re showing we’re one of the best Stepinac teams to ever be assembled, and we’re all pros.”
Having seen the twins from the start of their basketball career playing freshman basketball for the Crusaders and winning a city championship to see them dominate at the varsity level, Archbishop Stepinac coach Patrick Massaroni reflected on how their strong off-court bond helped them perform on the court.
“They’re so close off the court that it allows them to be so connected on the court,” said Massaroni. “It allows for them to feed off each other, push each other, yell at each other, hug each other, they’re different. They’re different players.”