A simultaneous combustion

A conversation with David and Travis Wear can be a confusing, uncanny and somewhat frightening experience.

Ask the two eerily similar twins, for instance, to name their favorite food.

“Steak,” they reply, in stereo.

TV show?

“‘The Office.’”

Music?

“Hip - ,” Travis says, “Hip - ,” David echoes, a split second separating their syncopation.

“Hop,” they say, aligned once again. “Lil Wayne.”

Watching them play basketball is only slightly less perplexing. After all, seeing two 6-foot-9, 206-pound 18-year-olds navigating the low post in near-perfect symmetry is hardly an everyday occurrence.

The Wears have led Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana to three California Interscholastic Federation championships and one state title. The brothers are tuning up for their senior campaign this summer by serving as twin pillars of the U.S. team for next week’s FIBA Americas under-18 championship in Formosa, Argentina.

Listed as four-star talents by rivals.com, the two are committed to North Carolina and have drawn comparisons to Brook and Robin Lopez, the 7-foot Stanford standouts who were chosen 10th and 15th, respectively, in last month’s NBA Draft.

The only difference between the two sets of twins may be the astounding lack of a difference between the Wears. While the Lopez brothers caused a stir with their disparate hairstyles (Robin sported an Afro, Brook a buzz) and play (Robin an aggressive defender, Brook a prodigious scorer), David and Travis embrace their similitude.

Whether it’s shopping for the same foods at the supermarket, catching the same movies or competing on the same Xbox 360, the two are virtually inseparable. They split a room at the Red Roof Inn across from Verizon Center during their time in the District, will room together in Argentina next week and plan on sharing a dorm suite at North Carolina.

They briefly considered getting different haircuts - both keep their blonde hair buzzed - but decided against it when they realized they could no longer switch classes, a prank they executed through elementary and middle school and still try occasionally at Mater Dei.

“If I had to tell you one difference between the two I really couldn’t,” fellow national team member Mason Plumlee said.

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