Matt Kleinmann freezes when he sees Marcus or Markieff Morris walking alone on campus.

Kleinmann, a senior center, tries to take a quick glance at the face to determine which one of the two Morris twins it might be. It does not work. Kleinmann can’t tell them apart yet so he has to choose a simpler greeting.

“Hey,” Kleinmann says, “What’s up twin?”

Kleinmann is not the only one who struggles to differentiate between the two freshman forwards from Philadelphia. The twins’ teammates and coaches are facing the same problem, but they are beginning to compile identification strategies.

Freshman guard Tyshawn Taylor notes that Markieff has a bigger head. Senior guard Brennan Bechard looks at their eyebrows. Marcus’ seem to be thinner.

Perhaps the Morris twins have not shared the secret to telling them apart with everyone.

“Normally,” Marcus said, “I’ll cut my sideburns off so I can be clear.”

The Morris twins, however, are not agitated by the failure to identify them. Not the least bit. Marcus and Markieff have grown up at each other’s sides.

Not only are they used to it, but the twins also embrace it. Marcus and Markieff made it clear early in the recruiting process that they would be attending the same college. They’ve always played on the same basketball team so they figured there was no reason to stop in college.

But the similarities between the twins go beyond basketball.

Their favorite subject is math. Their favorite food is cornbread. Their favorite TV show is “Martin.” They share the exact same tattoos — including one etched on their arms that read “Twin Towers.”

“They do everything together,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “They even dress alike.”

So the biggest difference between the twins is the sideburns. Until they step on the basketball court. It’s not that one is substantially better than the other ­— they both were ranked as top 50 recruits in the class of 2008 ­— but their games have just developed differently.

The 6-foot-9, 235-pound Markieff plays primarily inside and is known as a fierce rebounder. He averaged 12 rebounds per game last year at APEX Academy in New Jersey.

The 6-foot-8, 225-pound Marcus can play either inside or on the perimeter. He likes to move around and takes more jump shots.

“I can play all five positions on the court,” Marcus said. “It depends on how the match-ups are going.”

Both Marcus and Markieff will have a chance to start for the Jayhawks right away this season. Self said the twins brought a dimension to the game that Kansas did not have during his first five years as coach — big men who can shoot.

In practice and pick-up games, the twins regularly take shots that would be considered out of the range of most big men. They are not doing it just for fun. The twins make the shots most of the time and their versatility has wowed teammates.

“You can’t pigeonhole them at any one position,” Kleinmann said. “It’s a really fun thing to see — a big guy grab a rebound, come down the court, pull up and take a jumper.”

Mystery surrounded the Morris twins’ abilities for fans going into Friday’s Late Night in the Phog scrimmage. Because of a delay in being cleared academically eligible by the NCAA, the Morris twins didn’t accompany Kansas on its trip to Canada during the Labor Day weekend for three exhibition games.

The twins also had not arrived on campus yet in June when the team hosted two open inter-squad scrimmages. No one aside from teammates and coaches had seen them play.

It did not take long for Marcus and Markieff to introduce themselves during the scrimmage at Late Night. Markieff scored the second most points of all the Jayhawks with 13 and recorded the most rebounds with six. He converted on two tip-ins, made a three-pointer from the left wing and added a fadeaway jumper.

Marcus, on the opposing team, scored six points and showcased his athletic ability by not turning the ball over and driving to the basket.

“Marcus, you can see how skilled he is for a big guy,” Self said after the scrimmage. “That is a skilled guy. He’s going to be a tough match-up.”

“And then Markieff, he got down and knocked and banged and did some things.”

Marcus describes the opportunity to play alongside his brother for the defending NCAA National Champions as “awesome”.

Neither of the twins mind who becomes more successful for the Jayhawks. Believe it or not, they are so close that they aren’t even very competitive towards each other. Taylor said the twins often refuse to play one-on-one against each other.

“I guess their excuse was, ‘I don’t play hard when I play against my brother,’” Taylor said.

Marcus does not like to admit he usually beats Markieff when they do play against each other. Marcus counters it by saying he would rather win against Markieff in video games, but loses most of the time.

Maybe that’s why they don’t mind being confused for one another. They even have fun with it sometimes.

Take the time in third grade in Philadelphia when Marcus and Markieff were in different classes. Markieff said they decided to switch classes because they knew their teachers would not notice.

“When my mom found out, we couldn’t do that anymore,” Markieff said. “We’re all in the same classes this year, so there’s no reason to switch.”

Being in the same classes, however, creates the nuisance of telling the twins apart for teachers at the University.

Just remember, look at the sideburns.

— — Edited by Jennifer Torline