DeJuan Blair and D.J. Kennedy played basketball together from the time they were 7 years old. They grew up in the same section of the Hill District, played on the same AAU teams, and later won three City League championships and a PIAA championship at Schenley High School.

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Tomorrow

• Game: No. 13 Pitt (15-3, 3-2 Big East) vs. St. John's (7-9, 1-4), 7 p.m.
• Where: Madison Square Garden, New York.
• TV: FSN Pittsburgh.

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They were the two best players on a team that many consider to be one of the best of all time in the history of Western Pennsylvania high school basketball. Blair and Kennedy will share the same court again tomorrow night at Madison Square Garden in New York, but for the first time since elementary school they will be on opposing teams.

Blair is the starting center for Pitt and Kennedy is the starting shooting guard for St. John's.

"It's going to be fun," Blair said. "A lot of people play against their friends, but this will be like playing against my brother. There's a big difference."

Blair described his relationship with Kennedy as "blood." They were inseparable when they were growing up, staying at each other's homes almost as much as their own. Their families are close as a result, and the Blair and Kennedy clans are driving together in the same car from Pittsburgh to New York City tomorrow to watch their boys play.

Even though they are separated for the first time and lead the busy lives of college basketball players, Blair and Kennedy speak to each other on an almost daily basis. Lately, most of the conversations have involved trash talking.

"He's like, 'Don't be under the hoop,'" Blair said. "You know how he is. He thinks he's Mr. High Flyer."

Blair and Kennedy played against one another on one other occasion. In elementary school, Kennedy's Madison Elementary School beat Manchester Elementary, 38-36, in city league elementary school championship game. Blair scored 34 of his team's 36 points.

It's not that easy for Blair and Kennedy nowadays, but they are both making the transition to college basketball look like a walk in the park. Both are starting as true freshmen in the Big East and both are among the top rookies in the conference.

Blair is averaging 11.9 points and 9.4 rebounds per game and is one of the leading candidates for Big East rookie of the year. Kennedy is averaging 8.8 points and 7.0 rebounds per game for the Red Storm. He has started all 16 games and is the team's second-leading rebounder.

"I'm not really surprised," former Schenley coach Fred Skrocki said. "We played against really good competition last year and DeJuan and D.J. always stepped up."

Skrocki is now the coach at Butler County Community College, but he still runs into people who want to talk about last year's Schenley team.

"I was in church [Sunday] and this lady came up to me and said, 'I like how DeJuan smiles,'" Skrocki said. "She said, 'He reminds me of Hines Ward. That smile's going to take him places.'"

Blair still walks the halls of Schenley when he's not going to class or practice at Pitt. Skrocki, who remains a teacher at Schenley, said he's "like a hero there."

While Blair is reaping the rewards of being a star player on his hometown team, Kennedy is making himself at home in New York. He was not as highly sought-after as Blair, but he did have a number of schools, including Pitt, interested in him.

Pitt coach Jamie Dixon signed guards Brad Wanamaker out of Philadelphia and Darnell Dodson out of Maryland, so there was not a spot left for Kennedy. Dodson has since transferred to Miami-Dade Junior College because he was declared ineligible by the NCAA Clearinghouse.

Blair said he regrets that he and Kennedy are not playing together in college.

"I wish he would have thought about it more," Blair said. "We should have taken it more seriously to go to college together. We weren't thinking that way. We could have gone to Pitt, West Virginia, Kansas State. I could have gone anywhere he went. We weren't thinking ahead like we should have been.

"We could have brought what we had at Schenley to Pitt. But I guess he wanted to set a new trend. He wanted to get out of the city. That's cool. I told him I was behind him 100 percent whatever he did. He's starting and playing very well. I'm happy for him. He didn't have to stay home."

The trash talk will continue for another day. There might even be a stray elbow or two between the two during the game. They'll be competing for bragging rights, but Blair said the bond between them is unbreakable.

"He's my best friend. I've been with him all my life. We'll be forever linked because of the Hill. He's like my brother. We're like family. Nothing will ever get between us."