By David Borges
Journal Register News Service

The tattoo that covers most of Darryl “Truck” Bryant’s right leg says it all: “Family 4 Life.”

It’s a reference to a close-knit group of New York kids who were once teammates on the powerful New York Gauchos AAU team and are now spread out across the Big East Conference.

There’s Bryant at West Virginia, Devin Hill at DePaul, Jordan Theodore at Seton Hall and Kemba Walker at UConn — all freshmen making their way in the best conference in the country. All, no matter how far apart geographically, forever bonded as close friends. More than that, actually. Family 4 Life.

“Kemba, man, he’s like my brother,” Bryant said. “I don’t even look at him as a friend, I look at him as a brother.”

There they were on Tuesday night, the two “brothers” locked in an intense, Big East battle. For a good portion of UConn’s 61-55 win over West Virginia at WVU Coliseum, Walker and Bryant went head-to-head as dueling point guards. Bryant started the game and played 31 minutes; Walker came off the bench and played 20.

Neither was overwhelming: Bryant shot just 3-for-11 and finished with 11 points to go with a game-high seven assists. Walker scored 10 points on just 2-for-8 shooting and didn’t dole out a single assist.

But with A.J. Price having apparently left his shot back in Storrs (0-for-9, one point), it was Walker — not Price, a senior — out on the floor in crunch time. It was Walker who hit a key, fast-break layup with just under five minutes to go to put the Huskies up five, and it was Walker who hit a clutch free throw with two minutes left to give UConn a two-point lead.

“I thought he was magnificent,” UConn coach Jim Calhoun said of Walker. “We always say (the Paradise Jam) was his coming-out party, but — and nothing against Wisconsin, Miami and La Salle — but these games are more physical and tough. Going back to Gonzaga, he hasn’t quite had his legs under him. (Tuesday), he had his legs under him.”

Calhoun believed that playing against Bryant “really loosened him up. It was just two neighborhood guys going against each other.”

Bryant hails from Brooklyn and Walker is from the Bronx, so they aren’t exactly from the same neighborhood. But they’ve been playing against each other since they were 11 years old, and, of course, played on the same Gauchos team for several years.

And that Gauchos team was stacked. Led by three point guards — Walker, Bryant and Theodore — often sharing the floor at the same time, the Gauchos were a dominant force on the AAU circuit.

“They won just about every tourney they played (in the summer of 2007),” UConn assistant coach Andre LaFleur said.

There were other stars: Chris Fouch, now a freshman at Drexel, and Danny Jennings, prepping this year at St. Thomas More but slated to join Bryant at WVU next season, among others. They played, they won, and they formed a unique kinship.

“It’s an excellent bond,” said Walker, who’s the only one of the group who doesn’t sport a “Family 4 Life” tattoo. “We’re real close. We always call each other, see how each other’s seasons are going.”

Bryant visited Walker at UConn’s team hotel Monday night. While on the floor Tuesday, there was some trash-talking, but mostly compliments heaved back and forth.

Walker’s next Gauchos reunion will come when Theodore and Seton Hall visit the XL Center in a couple of weeks.

“The 18th (of January),” Walker quickly noted, apparently already having circled the date on his schedule.

Family 4 Life, indeed.

Written by :

Rocky Bucano