The last time Terry Martin and Storm Warren played on a basketball team together, they won a championship – Louisiana’s Class 3-A high school title in 2005.Now the former Richwood High School teammates are back on the hardwood again, this time as LSU Tigers searching for a Southeastern Conference title.Martin, a 6-foot-6-inch guard known for his shooting streaks, begins his senior year hoping to finally hit his stride after a rocky transfer from Texas Tech in 2005.Warren, a 6-foot-7-inch power forward, is suiting up as a true freshman hoping to prove he can contribute consistently to first-year coach Trent Johnson’s team.But the two have a bond deeper than LSU basketball or their beginnings in Monroe.Their blood lines and last names might tell a different story, but ask either Martin and Warren and they’ll tell you the same thing. They’re practically brothers.Martin’s father, Terry Martin I, coached his son and Warren at Richwood. Martin assumed Richwood’s head coaching position with years of experience from the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks and overseas leagues.”When I first played in the eighth grade, his father was the one that taught me the ropes of basketball,” Warren said.But it was more than just basketball for Warren, who described a childhood marred by financial and family concerns.”Coach Terry Martin picked me up and put the ball in my hands,” Warren said. “He said, ‘This can be your way into a better life and a free ride through school.’  I got better and went for it.”And it has paid off for Warren, who earned his first career double-double in the Tigers’ second game of the season against Alcorn State.The fans have been quick to show affection for Warren and his curious first name – even shouting “Tropical Storm Warren!” after a good play. For the record, Warren said he has never been told about the origin of his name.It’s a funny sight for teammate Terry Martin, especially when he remembers being the first player to dunk on a “very skinny” Warren in his early teens.”He was very, very, very uncoordinated,” he said.Coach Terry Martin remembers the same early struggles.”He was uncoordinated, but he played with a lot of energy and had such a desire to learn,” he said. “He had a big upside. He’s still nowhere near where he’s going to be.”Despite their close relationship, Warren said his decision to come to LSU was not based on Martin being on the team.”I didn’t want to tell him it would be a certain way, and then when he got here, have it be a different way,” Martin said. “I know how it feels to go somewhere and not be happy. I wanted him to make the decision on his own.”But having Martin to show him the ropes certainly wasn’t a downside in the recruiting process.”It was basically like an inside look at a college,” Warren said. “I knew he wasn’t going to tell me a story or sell me something. He shot it to me straight. He told me it wasn’t going to be easy when I got here.”But it has never been that easy for Warren.He declines to discuss details of his home struggles with five brothers and two sisters, but Warren does say coach Terry Martin served as a surrogate father at times. The Richwood basketball team, he says, was his family.”He was like my dad,” Warren said. “If I had any problems or issues, he was in my corner.”Coach Terry Martin said he housed Warren for three years during high school.”He’s like a son to me. He’s part of the family,” Martin said.The Martin family home served as an evacuation refuge for four men’s basketball players during Hurricane Gustav, including Warren, Martin and freshmen Delwan Graham and Dennis Harris.”His dad and mom cooked for us,” Harris said. “They had pictures of Terry and Storm in their games. You could tell it was a real family-oriented place.”And now that both Warren and Martin call LSU home, they’re hoping to lead the Tigers to a championship just as they did for their high school.”I hope I can leave with a bang, and he can come in with something good happening,” Martin said.—-Contact Amy Briattin at [email protected]