They came here as a package deal, more like brothers than best friends, fully expecting to spend four years together in the heartland.

Keyon Dooling and Clarence Gilbert ? Keyon and Tudy to everyone back home in Fort Lauderdale ? would be the ones to lift Missouri basketball back to prominence. These two high-flying guards from Dillard would set the Big 12 on its ear.

Recruited by the venerable Norm Stewart, they were rocked by his retirement after their freshman year. They sat around and sulked for two consecutive weeks, skipping classes, sleeping late, wondering if they should transfer.

?All we did was sleep and eat,? Gilbert recalls after a recent win over Kansas State, sitting with a visitor in the stands at a nearly empty Hearnes Center. ?We were so young, 17-18 years old. Young. So much going through our head. So many people saying this and that. At the time, we felt like we made a bad decision by coming here.?

A new coach arrived. Young. Intense. Straight from powerful Duke.

One look at Quin Snyder, and they decided to stick it out.

One year later, though, the NBA beckoned for Dooling, spreading out its many riches before him. He asked his friend if he should go. Gilbert, incredulous, told him he would be crazy if he didn?t.

In the blink of an eye, Gilbert was left behind to finish his college career without his running mate, roommate and confidant. The separation has proven tough on both.

Gilbert, headstrong and outspoken at times, was suspended for one game for insubordination last year. Things got so serious, his father and uncle flew in from South Florida for a meeting with the coaching staff.

Dooling, meanwhile, moved to Los Angeles, where he plays for the Clippers. He married the former Natosha Smart, a former Dillard cheerleader. Last January, they welcomed a baby daughter.

Heavy stuff. Real-life stuff. A far cry from the extended adolescence of a college campus, where Gilbert plows ahead, on track to graduate with a degree in general studies.

You might think their bond has weakened, but you would be wrong. Even across the miles, Keyon and Tudy remain close.

?See this watch?? Gilbert says, offering a diamond-encrusted Locman for inspection. ?Keyon sent it to me. Unreal.?

You should see their cell phone bills. Calls come virtually every day, at all hours, in both directions. Sometimes they have deep discussions. Sometimes they talk about nothing at all.

A few weeks back, two games into his conversion to point guard, Gilbert called his friend and asked, exasperated, ?Keyon, man, how do you score from this position??

Dooling, out since mid-November with a high ankle sprain, gets depressed sometimes. Knowing this, Gilbert will call and say, ?Are you all right?? And the answer will come: ?I?m glad you asked me. Yeah, I?m good.?

One call in particular, though, stands out above the rest.

It came Dec. 28, the night before Missouri was to play DePaul in Chicago.

Maybe it was the holiday season. Maybe it was all the time on the injured list. Maybe it was just the pangs of a friendship interrupted by 1,500 miles. Whatever the reason, Dooling left a heartfelt message that had Gilbert close to tears.

?I let the guys listen to it,? Gilbert says. ?I got all the team around and said, listen to this message. This is real friendship. Keyon was saying, ?Man, I miss you. I love you.? He went on and on. Guys were just like, ?Wow.?

?Real buddies, real friendship, that?s what it?s supposed to be about.?

Gilbert smiles as the memory floods back. He swallows hard and completes the thought.

?That?s my guy, man,? he says. ?Through thick and thin. Basketball, without basketball. He?s going to be my friend to the end. It?s bigger than basketball. He?s my God-honest friend.?

They dream about a reunion in the NBA, but there?s plenty to worry about right now. Dooling is trying to make it back onto the court, while Gilbert is still adjusting to the position switch.

Missouri?s only senior, Gilbert is the only player Snyder feels performs with intensity and purpose every time out. His defense is top notch ? ?He?s one of the best defenders in the country, if not the best,? Tigers star Kareem Rush says ? one of the biggest reasons for the position switch.

Snyder speaks about Gilbert with deep admiration. Sensing the season spinning out of control in early January, he took a gamble and put the team in Gilbert?s hands. His faith has so far been rewarded.

?I think he?s grown so much as a human being,? Snyder says. ?The playing stuff has followed. For a guy that people used to talk about as someone who never saw a shot he didn?t like, what he?s doing for our team right now is really selfless. His game sometimes is affected by it.?

Gilbert?s shooting percentage has fallen to 38.0, his scoring average to 16.1, but he is getting more comfortable.

?He?s a warrior,? Snyder says. ?You know what I mean? And when he tells you something, he means it. You can count on him.?

Of Snyder, Gilbert says: ?The guy gives me so much knowledge, so many times, so often. I wish I could play for him for 20 years.?

That won?t happen, but by the time this season ends, Gilbert will have put an indelible mark on this program. He already ranks as the leading 3-point shooter in school history and is on track to leave as the No. 8 all-time scorer.

And whereas Dooling left after Snyder?s first season, Gilbert stuck around to provide a bridge to a new era filled with great promise. His name will be spoken here in the heartland long after he?s gone.

?That feels great,? Gilbert says. ?To have such success in a great place with great people, that?s an accomplishment you?ll remember for the rest of your life.?

Sort of like real friendship.