Next generation: House twins following in family footsteps, starring on basketball court

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) - A house is not a home. But the House twins, Desert Mountain High School freshmen Kaden and Kalek, are right at home on the court. “I think it’s just, like, instilled in us,” says Kaden. “We’re all basketball players,” says Kalek.

Basketball is certainly in the boys’ blood. Their dad, Eddie House, is the all-time leading scorer at Arizona State and an NBA champion who played 11 seasons in the league. Their uncle is Mike Bibby, who won a national championship at the University of Arizona and spent 14 years in the NBA. Henry Bibby, their grandfather, is a coaching legend who won multiple national titles at UCLA before playing nine seasons in the NBA. Their cousin, Michael Bibby, who’s an assistant coach at Desert Mountain, played Division I basketball at Appalachian State, and their older brother Jaelen House is the second leading scorer on a top 25 New Mexico team.

So it should come as no surprise that the twins are excelling in their first year of Arizona high school hoops. “I felt like I was going to do good,” says Kalek. “Yeah, we both did. We just have confidence in ourselves, you know, just high confidence.” “I’m doing a little bit better than what I thought,” says Kaden. “But yeah, I did expect myself to do all this.”

Kaden, who’s 6′3″ and describes himself as a “driver/defender,” leads all freshmen in the state in scoring at more than 25 points per game. Kalek, about an inch shorter and described by his brother as a “defender/scorer,” is fourth among freshmen in scoring, at just under 17 points per game. Together, the brothers have led the Wolves to a 17-4 record. They rank first and second on the team in points, rebounds, steals and blocks and first and third in assists.

Asked where the confidence comes from to excel at this stage in their careers, Kalek points to their genes. “Everyone’s tough in our family. So like, I don’t really know how to explain it, we just have it in is,” he said.

“When people aren’t confident, I think it’s because, like, they get nervous and it messes with their head. I’ve been around basketball so much, so I don’t really get nervous in games,” Kaden said. The House brothers recently received their first college scholarship offer from Washington State University.

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