ROCHESTER, Mich. – Sometimes all it takes is the smallest thing to bring two people together for life. For Trey Townsend and Chris Conway, it was a song they didn't think many other people knew. 

"Chris put this song on in the car, like a week after we moved in," Trey said. "It wasn't very popular, but I started singing it and he was just like 'wait, you know this song?'"

Connecting over that song, "Infatuated" by Jesus Honcho, was the first moment Trey remembers the two big men realizing they're eerily similar. 

"We are pretty much the exact same person on and off the court," Townsend said. "We couldn't be more similar, and that's why we get along so well. Whatever one of us is thinking, the other one is probably thinking the same thing." 

Both nonchalant, easy-going guys who love to win, it was easy to see they'd be close friends.

"If you look at our family dynamics and how we act, it was already so similar," Conway said. "As we spent more time together we just kept finding more similarities. Ever since five days into knowing each other, we've been practically inseparable."

Conway came from Naperville, Ill., so Townsend showed him the surrounding area where he grew up, as someone who's been around Oakland University all his life. 

"After those first two or three days we just clicked," Townsend said. "My hometown is around here, I'm from Oxford, so I put him into my friend group here and got him comfortable with the area, that just made us even closer."

Tragedy struck Townsend's alma mater, Oxford High School, on Nov. 30, 2021. A shooting which resulted in four students dead and seven injured shook southeast Michigan. Townsend spoke to the crowd about the tragedy before the Michigan State game at Little Caesars Arena, and both he and Conway have worn "Oxford Strong" t-shirts before every game that followed.

"Seeing in that moment when he was first figuring out about it [Oxford] and how sad he was, my job was to be there for him and make sure if he needed anything from me – that I was there," Conway said. "I wanted to make sure he knew that I was there for him emotionally if he needed it." Head Coach Greg Kampe, who has seen hundreds of athletes come through Oakland University, said Townsend and Conway were some of best friends he'd ever seen after the Golden Grizzlies 108-40 win over Ohio Christian University, a game where both Townsend and Conway shined. 

"You see guys come through here and become friends for life, these two guys – from the moment they got here – they've been inseparable," Kampe said.
 
On the floor, the two young bigs have seen increased playing time and gained new confidence in their abilities. Townsend has become the most relied upon player on the team, currently fourth in the nation in minutes per game with 38. His points per game have nearly doubled since last season, and he's been the driving force in multiple Golden Grizzlies wins as Oakland has started off 15-5 and 8-1 in conference. 

He's just 0.4 minutes per game above his teammate and national assists leader Jalen Moore, whom Townsend called "the best point guard in the country." Townsend credited the offseason conditioning for his workload.

"We were able to get into the gym right in June and work out 4-5 times a week, that's helped with a lot of these 40-minute games," Townsend said.

Conway has seen increased minutes as of late as well, with 22 against Ohio Christian and 14 against Milwaukee. Conway has started in all 17 games he's played. 

"I view there's a chance he [Conway] could be a really good player at Oakland," Kampe said after the Youngstown State game. 

Their friendship doesn't just make life easier off-court. Conway, 6 feet 9 inches, and Townsend, 6 feet 6 inches, help each other improve in practice as well. 

"We feed off of each other in every aspect as we're going through this college experience together," Townsend said. "He's helped me just as much as I've helped him from a basketball standpoint. Having someone his size to practice against has helped me go against people that big in games." 

Conway has said what he needs to improve most is defense. A skilled shooter for his size, Conway has used his practice time against big guys like Dan Oladapo and Babatunde Sowunmi last season to get better defensively. Facing bigger, stronger guys every day was a real "welcome to college basketball" moment for Conway. He adjusted his intensity to match.

"Going up against guys like that every day and having to try your hardest not to get embarrassed was the biggest shock to me," Conway said. "Coming to practice every day, you have to play like it's a game."

Now, he's going against Townsend, a versatile, position-less forward that has big man and guard skills. Seeing Townsend find his role quickly taught Conway that every player is on their own timeline in finding their role.

"Everyone has a role, the biggest thing is finding out your role and doing it well," Conway said. "Trey found his role super quickly. For some people like me, it takes a little longer to figure out your role and do it well. The biggest thing for me this year has been figuring out my role more." 

As both young big men improve and continue their legacies on the court, both expressed optimism and gratitude over the friendship they've built.

"It's been really nice that I've found someone that I'm that close with and I can relate to that much," Conway said. 

"I don't think we could become better friends than we are right now," Townsend said.