Girls basketball: Wadsworth's Maddox twins in it to win it

Identical twins Julia and Natalie Maddox don't have to look in the mirror to determine if they've done everything possible to help the Wadsworth girls basketball team succeed. The 16-year-old sophomores can simply look at each other. Best friends with confident, outgoing, big-time personalities and no-holds-barred, never-back-down, 100-mph, human-wrecking-ball playing styles, the Maddox twins are a large reason why the Grizzlies (24-2) will meet Cincinnati Princeton (22-4) in a Division I state semifinal Thursday at 6 p.m. at the University of Dayton. "I would equate them to a two-person pack of hyenas," Wadsworth coach Andrew Booth said. "They're savage, non-stop, fierce, ultracompetitive, never get tired and are always on the move. It's unbelievable. "They are the opposite of wallflowers. They bring a lot of passion and positive vibes to everything they do. They get so excited when one of their teammates makes a great play that it's almost like a mosh pit breaks out for five seconds. It got to the point where I turned to our coaches and said, 'We might end up hurting somebody.' (Assistant coach and son) Alec (Booth) said, 'Quit being an old guy and relax. That's their thing.'" The twins do their thing with a style all their own. They'll gladly run into walls, the bleachers or opposing players if it means getting to a loose ball, they dive all over the floor and they get incredibly excited when one of their teammates makes a great play. It sometimes borders on chaos and it's almost always loud, but it's also extremely effective. Plus, with an older brother, senior Luke, who played football for the Grizzlies and parents who also were high school athletes — dad John was a standout basketball player at Tallmadge and mom Diana played hoops and volleyball at Highland under her maiden name of Chaffee — the twins know no other way. "We developed that from our brother Luke," said Julia, who was born three minutes after Natalie. "We've grown up in such a competitive environment. We're always playing against each other, and it gets very competitive, very fast." "We're very enthusiastic on the court," Natalie said. "It brings a lot of energy and momentum to the team, so we always try to celebrate our teammates. It really bonds our team. Sometimes when we all start shoving each other it hurts a little bit, but you feel love in your heart." Julia and Natalie are both 5-foot-8, lean with long, dark hair and lettered as freshmen, with Julia starting for most of the season. They also lettered in volleyball as sophomores as the Grizzlies advanced to the D-II regional finals and plan to run track in the spring. An honorable mention All-Northeast Inland District basketball selection, Julia starts at shooting guard for Wadsworth, wears No. 1 and averages 7.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 2.0 steals while shooting .440 from the field. A second-team All-Northeast Inland District pick, Natalie starts at power forward, wears No. 3 and averages 8.1 points, a team-best 7.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.1 steals while shooting .479. Their importance to the Grizzlies, however, goes way beyond numbers. "Their individual skills have gotten so much better," Booth said. "Among other things, it's a huge part of why we're making a trip down to Dayton." PERFECT PRACTICE After their freshman basketball season ended, Julia and Natalie decided not to play AAU, electing to concentrate on developing their individual skills under Deion Morrison of Grind Until. "AAU gets you experience playing in fast, high-paced games," Natalie said. "We already had experience doing that, so we wanted to work on our skills." "We worked mainly on shooting form and how to be quick and explosive off the dribble," Julia said. "His teachings really helped us. We learned how to apply it in games." Both players also are quick to credit their dad, though even John Maddox, a first-team All-Ohio guard in 2001 and one of the best free throw shooters in Tallmadge history, couldn't fix Natalie's unorthodox right-left step approach on her jumper. Julia uses the traditional left-right approach for a right-hander, which accounts for one of the ways Booth tells them apart during practice. "I'm a goofy-footed shooter," Natalie said. Though they laugh and smile a ton and always seem to be having a great time, the twins learned from their dad that there's a time to be serious. "He's helped tremendously, not just with basketball skills, but a basketball mentality," Julia said. "He taught us to go to the next play, read things and play with a lot of confidence." Beyond that, John taught his daughters the one thing completely under their control is their effort level. "He's literally taught me everything I know and I look up to him so much," Natalie said. "He always tells me and Julia to be the hardest workers and play the fastest of anyone on the floor, because you can always control that. I definitely get tired, but I take a lot of pride in my hustle. You can't always control if you're making shots, but you can always control how hard you play." MIRROR, MIRROR ... Julia and Natalie are mirror image twins, which occurs in approximately 25% of identical twins. It is defined by characteristics like birthmarks, dominant hands or other features on opposite sides of the body. Though both shoot right-handed, Julia has two dimples on the right side of her face and Natalie has one on the left. Julia has a small mole on the top of her left index finger and Natalie has one on the bottom of her right. When they were little, Julia would lose a tooth on the left side of her mouth and Natalie would lose one on the right. "Sometimes it's kind of freaky," Natalie said with a laugh, "but I honestly forget I'm a twin. It feels normal." Julia and Natalie, who say all their teammates can tell them apart, have never tried to switch roles to prank people, but since they have a number of class periods together, they actually have had teachers ask them to try it to see if they would catch on. "I love having a twin," Julia said. "You always have a best friend, no matter where you go. We are always laughing about something and we have so many inside jokes with each other. She's my best friend and we are in the same friend group. We do a lot of things together." "I don't think we ever spend a day not together," Natalie said. "Sometime she'll even come sleep in my room. My room's the big room. We used to share it when we moved here, but Julia decided to move out." When they argue, which both insist isn't often, there is one central theme. "Sometimes we get really competitive with each other, but it's usually about clothes," Natalie said. "She wore my whole outfit (Monday). She stole my clothes." In terms of basketball, Julia uses a black ankle brace and typically wears her hair in a bun on game nights, while Natalie opts for a white brace and ponytail. In practice, when the Grizzlies don't wear numbers and hairstyles are random, the twins can sense coaches looking at their ankle braces to tell them apart. "I've butchered it for two years," Booth said. Alike in so many ways, the twins laughed throughout when asked a series of questions. Who's smarter? "Me, for sure," Julia said. "I definitely get the better grades on tests." Natalie: "Definitely Julia." Who's stronger? "We lift the same, but I think I might be stronger," Natalie said. "But when she's mad, she can use more force than I can." Julia: "I'll give that one to her because she fights for more rebounds against bigger people." Who's more aggressive? "I would say I am," Julia said. "I have a little bit of a temper." Natalie: "We're equal, but she shows her aggression on her face more. She has that game face." Who's louder? "That's probably me, too," Julia said. Natalie: "We're both very loud people, but I'd say I'm louder." Who's a better singer? "Oh, definitely me," Natalie said. "I can sing louder." Julia: "I'm the better singer in the car. I think my vocals sound good." In the end, the similarities drastically outweigh the differences, especially when it comes to the twins' competitive nature and fun-loving personalities. "We're very energetic and bubbly," Julia said. "We're also very competitive, but we always make fun of a situation. We're always laughing and lighthearted." DOUBLE TROUBLE Once the ball is tossed, the twins are all business, and that will be the case Thursday when Wadsworth tries to become the third team in program history to win a state championship. In a bit of an oddity, the previous two also had twins on the roster. In 1997, a Grizzlies team led by stars Katelyn Vujas, Elisa Inman and Kate Lyren included reserve identical twins Tammy and Debbie Young. The 2016 team included standout Jodi Johnson and fraternal twin Jenna. Julia Faith and Natalie Joy Maddox — "They bring a lot of both," Booth said of his players' middle names — hope to add to the list. "This ride has been so much fun with my best friends," Julia said. "We go through every day together and get each other better. Playing and winning has been so fun." Two more victories would make the experience event more memorable. "I get to keep playing more and more games with my best friends," Natalie said. "We've made so many memories and have had so much fun. I'll look back on this season forever. "I think we can take it all the way. Coming in, we just realized all the work we put in and realized our potential. We're so close to each other. I consider all of them my sisters." Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com.