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	Editor's note: The following story ran in The Daily Republic on Jan. 6, 2001. It was written by a DWU student who happens to be a Daily Republic sports writer. We think the story captures what made this year's basketball team special.

Joel Reinesch
Daily Republic

To each other, they're the goofball, the father figure, the socialite, the quiet one and the guy from West River.

Together, they're the biggest class of incoming freshmen-to-senior players that Dakota Wesleyan coach Doug Martin, who's coached collegiately for 23 years, has ever had.

But what makes this group stand out is the bond they share, both on and off the court. Chris Marquardt, Brendan Sheppard, Jason Campbell, Myles Zephier and Brook Begeman not only have stuck together for four years with the DWU basketball program, but they're also roommates in a rented apartment in Mitchell.

With two bedrooms.

Somehow, they've taken to a whole new level the theory that opposites attract. About the only thing they have in common is basketball, but apparently that's enough to make it work.

"In the dorms, we all hung out in the same room all the time-hanging out, playing Nintendo and watching TV," said Sheppard, a team co-captain and the unofficial dad of the group. "We've probably been roommates for all four years, actually."

The relationship had an odd start.

Sheppard and Zephier were obvious roommate material, considering the two played high school basketball together at Flandreau. But other than being simple acquaintances at a few summer camps and the obvious name notoriety-Sheppard and Begeman both were all-state players up for Mr. Basketball in 1997-no one in the group knew much about each other when they stepped on campus their freshman year.

"My freshman year, I didn't have a roommate and Shep and Myles lived two doors down from me. I kind of forced myself upon them," said Marquardt, an Alexandria native. "I didn't know where else to go. And then (Begeman and Campbell) were just down the hall. We basically have lived together since our first day here."

They've evolved into their own definite identities.

Sheppard, the tallest of the bunch at 6-foot-7, is the father figure. Marquardt provides most of the humor in the house and, on the other side of the spectrum, Zephier doesn't have much to say. Campbell perhaps is the most socially active of the quintet and Begeman, from Isabel, is tagged as West River, through and through.

With Sheppard, Begeman and Zephier all in the starting lineup, the members of the senior household averaged about 36 points a game, led by Sheppard and Begeman, who averaged 14 and 11 points a night, respectively, for the Tigers.

Despite the unusual living arrangements-five guys cramped into a two-bedroom apartment-the conditions are about as normal as could be expected.

"Actually, I think with all the diversity, it kind of makes it fun," said Begeman. "We kind of know what goes on in every area of campus. Like Chris and Jason kind of know what the partiers do, and Shep and Myles and I, we kind of know what the more laid-back people do. We know what goes on all around campus.

"Our phone rings nonstop."

Even the little things, like keeping the place clean and making sure the bills are paid on time, aren't big issues. Any fights likely have more to do with a video game or a hand of cards than the typical roommate-squabble stuff.

"We never argue, never fight," Marquardt said. "We never get mad at each other and that's the truth."

There's no time for any of that, anyway, with basketball and school taking up much of their free time. Begeman, Sheppard and Zephier were Academic All-Americans last year and Marquardt may join the list this year.

Probably the one most lost in the shuffle is Campbell, who, despite playing more minutes early on in the season, has been out with a stress fracture in his foot.

"People around campus probably know me more as the person and not really the basketball player. I have a lot of friends and am hanging out with the crowd a lot," he said. "Everybody kind of understands (the differences) and puts up with what everyone's differences are."

While Marquardt and Campbell each have one more semester after this to fulfill their graduation requirements, Begeman, Sheppard and Zephier will graduate this spring. Their career paths will lead them all in different directions.

Sheppard, a finance major, probably will return to the family farm near Egan, while Begeman, a business and history major, would preferably find a job somewhere banking.

Marquardt is a biology major and more than likely will find a job in the teaching profession and Campbell is a criminal justice major. And Zephier, a biology and chemistry major, is planning on attending medical school sometime in the near future.

"I think that we're really so used to each other and we know each other so well that we're kind of like brothers," Zephier said. "It helps, too, that we're all in basketball and our lives are so similar. I don't know-it's kind of like we were made for each other. We have our own separate personalities, but as a group, we get along so well.

"Like on the team, we all have our own roles and do our own things."