The Pierre’s are a basketball family. It began with Butch Pierre who played his college ball at Mississippi State in the early ‘80s. He then began a long assistant coaching career with stops at his alma mater, LSU, Oklahoma State, NC State, and Memphis, among others.

Butch, who is enjoying his first college basketball season off the sidelines in decades, and his wife Clemmie had one daughter and twin sons, Joe and Josh. As a young family, basketball was their life. Their dad was on the road a lot, but he frequently would take his young sons with him to practice and games. To say Joe and Josh grew up around the game would be quite the understatement.

The twin brothers grew up watching and playing the game. With their dad playing and beginning his coaching career at Mississippi State, they grew up fans of the Bulldogs, even attending camp there. They reminisced of a 2008 game in Starkville when LSU visited town. When their dad was introduced as interim head coach for the visiting Tigers, the crowd gave him a standing ovation for what Josh said lasted 5 minutes.

The Pierre family from L to R: Josh, Clemmie, Langley, Butch, Joe

They both dreamed of playing on the big college basketball stage where their dad coached. Joe, the older of the brothers by 2 minutes, was the point guard and he used to destroy his younger brother in the driveway. Joe’s collegiate playing dreams, however, came crashing down in September of his senior year when he tore his ACL, LCL, and meniscus. Josh was able to walk-on at Arkansas State where he had a solid career. Their dreams would quickly shift to the coaching world.

Without the collegiate playing experience, Joe’s coaching path was a little bit longer than his dad’s and brother’s. He began as a student manager at Oklahoma State from 2011-15, working under his father, who was on staff as an assistant under Travis Ford. Upon graduation, Joe would spend a season as the head coach of an 8th grade team at Stillwater Junior High and then a season as an assistant at Pawnee High School. Joe would then join Kermit Davis’ staff at Middle Tennessee State as a graduate assistant.

After his playing career, Josh would spend some time on staff at his alma mater as the director of operations before joining Mississippi State this season as Video Coordinator. His older brother Joe is in his first season at Liberty as Director of Player Development. For the first time in their lives, the twin brothers will meet on the hardwood from opposing benches this Friday when 5-seed Mississippi State faces 12-seed Liberty in San Jose in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Josh Pierre, photo courtesy of MSU Athletics

“My first reaction was, ‘Wow, this is happening,’” Joe explained just minutes after the pairing was announced. “Our childhood dream of coaching in the NCAA Tournament is coming to fruition, and I really believe that God orchestrated this whole deal. Me being here, him being there, and being able to coach in our first NCAA Tournament against one another, that’s something only God can control.”

The brothers speak all the time, at least every two hours, Joe said. They knew the matchup was a possibility in recent days as both teams were looking at possible 5 and 12 seeds.

“If we don’t go a couple hours without calling one another, something is going on,” said Joe of how frequently he speaks with Josh. “We talk every day, every night, every morning. He’s my best friend in the world.”

They were both speechless in their first phone call after finding out they would be playing one another.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Josh said. “You see all the predictions, but you never know. It’s fun because I get to compete with my brother. He’s my accountability partner, best friend, and brother in Christ. It means everything, everything you dream of as a kid.”

The brothers’ parents now reside in Destin, Florida, and they will be making it to San Jose this weekend. Their other sibling, sister Langley McClay, will also make the trip out west for the game. Langley currently resides in Baton Rouge, Louisiana where she is a school teacher and Ph.D. candidate at LSU. Langley’s birthday is on Friday, the same day the Flames and Bulldogs will square off.

This will be the 3rd Liberty game this season that Joe’s parents have been able to attend in person, as they also made the ASUN Championship game in Nashville and the Alabama game.

“You know how they say blood is thicker than water,” Coach McKay said jokingly, “I just got to make sure he’s not sending our scouting report to his twin brother.”

Josh and Joe in high school

Only one of the brothers can advance to the second round where they could have the ability to meet best friends. Saint Louis head coach Travis Ford, who faces Virginia Tech on Friday with the winner advancing to play the winner of Mississippi State-Liberty on Sunday, had Butch on staff with him at Oklahoma State for 8 seasons. Both brothers call Coach Ford one of their best friends as well as Saint Louis staff members Phil Forte and Ford Stuen. Joe even baptized Phil.

Both brothers told me that Ephesians 3:20 is their life verse and that this week they are living it out. It reads, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”

*Pictured above from L to R is Michael Cobbins, Josh Pierre, Butch Pierre, Joe Pierre, LeBryan Nash