Weatherspoon brothers make quite the combo

Quinndary Weatherspoon briefly spent Monday focusing on his future.

The four-star shooting guard signed a letter of intent to play basketball at Mississippi State, the school he's been committed to since July. There were congratulatory messages via Twitter and text but that afternoon it was back to business.

"I know people are going to be coming at us hard this year," Weatherspoon said. "I'm trying to win a third title."

The two-time Dandy Dozen selection averaged 16.7 points and 5.7 rebounds last year, leading Velma Jackson to it's second consecutive MHSAA Class 3A championship.

Weatherspoon is quite accomplished — an SEC recruit who ranks among the top 150 seniors in the nation — but he'll need help from his little brother to capture a third state title in a row.

Nikolas Weatherspoon is a role player with the Falcons. He had to fight for his minutes as a freshman last season on a team dominated by his brother and other juniors and proved his worth as an up-and-coming talent.

Now, Quinndary and Nikolas, a part-time starter, shared time together in the Velma Jackson backcourt.

"Quinn is more laid back and smooth. Nick is aggressive and relentless," Falcons coach Anthony Carlyle said. "They compliment each other because Quinn is going to score and get his buckets but Nick is going to do all the dirty work."

They spend hours together on the court but when they're at home, they find time to separate.

"It's funny because we really don't talk to each other all that much unless we're going to play basketball," Quinndary Weatherspoon said. "When we're at home, he goes to his room, I go to mine."

Even with two years separating themselves in school and Quinndary dominating the attention on the court, Nikolas knows his role. And he's perfectly content with it.

"I tell him, 'You take all the shots and I'll clean you up,'" Nikolas Weatherspoon said. "I know my role and I've got nothing against it. I don't have to take all of the shots."

Quinndary calls Nikolas a "scrapper," and said he's going to get the "garbage points" so he can stay outside and knock down open shots.

"He knows what I like and I know what he likes," Quinndary Weatherspoon said. "He likes to jump so I'm going try and throw him a lot of lobs this year."

After this season, Quinndary will move to Starkville next season.

With what they've built in Camden, Nikolas wouldn't mind helping Quinndary build a dynasty at the next level.

"I'd be open to playing at Mississippi State with him," Nikolas said. "I wouldn't mind playing with him at all."

Contact Courtney Cronin at (601) 961-7091 or ccronin@jackson.gannett.com. Follow @CourtneyRCronin on Twitter.