This story originally appeared in Mile High Sports Magazine. Read the full digital edition.

Though their sibling rivalry has cooled a bit now that they’re in their 50s, you can bet there’s a part of Jim Turgeon that took a little delight knowing his basketball team was undefeated later into 2016-17 than his little brother Mark’s was.

Mark’s Maryland Terrapins dropped their first contest of the season back on Nov. 29 to fall to 7-1. They rattled off another five wins in a row to close out their non-conference schedule.

Meanwhile, Jim’s CSU-Pueblo ThunderWolves were off to a cool 10-0 to start their season through Dec. 17, including a perfect 6-0 to open RMAC play.

The brothers don’t compare many notes on X’s and O’s, after all, the Big Ten men’s game is quite different than what Jim’s women’s team plays, but the bond over basketball they’ve shared through the years still translates now that they’re calling the shots from the benches.

“We talk more about how to handle a situation with a player or parent or how to close the deal with a recruit more than the X’s and O’s,” Mark says.

“Sometimes I ask him for advice, but he never asks me for advice,” Jim says lightheartedly. “So sometimes big brother has to give him some advice whether he wants to hear it or not.”

Their on-court rivalry ended after Mark’s freshman year at Kansas, when little brother finally got the best of Jim, and now they can celebrate each other’s accomplishments in the coaching ranks.

Last year Jim guided the ThunderWolves to a program record 26 victories and its highest ever seed in the NCAA Tournament. He just missed RMAC Coach of the Year honors, but is on track to garner more hardware this season. He has some ground to make up on Mark, who claims a MVC, Big Ten and two Big 12 Coach of the Year honors, but as the calendar turned to January the ThunderWolves were ranked No. 9 in Division II – the only ranked team in the RMAC.

Regardless of where their final records end up this season, these brothers can smile about the success the other is experiencing.

Featured Image Credit: CSU-Pueblo