Markieff Morris was born roughly seven minutes before Marcus.

Some 21 years later, he was selected in the 2011 NBA Draft roughly seven minutes before Marcus. Funny how things work out sometimes. Markieff went No. 13 to the Phoenix Suns.

Marcus was the better college player, an All-American, the Big 12 Player of the Year. Based on college production, he should’ve gone first. But he didn’t, and he couldn’t have cared less.

“Man, it probably meant more to me than it meant to him when he went,” Marcus said. “He’s just my best friend, so I want him to do well.”

The emotion wasn’t far from the surface for Marcus as his brother was called. They shared a hug and a secret handshake while both shed tears of joy.

Minutes later, Markieff sat with a headset on, in the middle of a radio interview when NBA commissioner David Stern stepped to the lectern and announced Marcus as the next pick. He stood, raised a fist in the air and broke into a wide smile as his brother walked across the stage.

“Once I was called, I still had a little, you know, a little pressure on me waiting for my brother to be called,” Markieff said. “Once he was called, it just came off.”

Both twins walk into situations where they can contribute immediately. Phoenix is heavy on guards, but light in the frontcourt. Markieff’s strengths — defense, rebounding, stretching the floor — should get him in the rotation immediately. Maybe the best news for him, though, is the presence of a pair of established veterans in Steve Nash and Grant Hill.

“I hope they are ready for me to pick their brains, because I’m going to follow those guys around all day,” he said.

Marcus won’t have any vets with the reputation of Nash or Hill, but he will have the tutelage of Kevin McHale, one of the all-time great NBA post players and the current coach of the Rockets.

“From Manning to Kevin McHale, two of the best,” Marcus said. “It’s definitely amazing for me and amazing for my family, and I’m just ready.”

With the twins going to separate teams in the Western Conference, they’ll play against each other for the first time in their careers. And they’ll play each other often, four times in the first season.

“I’m going to see him a lot,” Marcus said. “I hope I don’t have to guard him or he doesn’t have to guard me, but basketball is basketball, and we are both competitive guys. We’re both going to get after it.”

Josh Selby, who had been projected as a late first or early second round selection, slipped all the way to the 49th pick, winding up in Memphis with former Jayhawks Xavier Henry and Darrell Arthur.