Before he was the "Young Bull" or a top-ranked recruit, Collin Sexton was a Pebblebrook High School newcomer who was humbled often by Jared Harper.
The team did a one-on-one session after practices. The winner of each game stayed on the court and played another teammate. The loser had to go off to the side and wait for another opportunity.
Sometimes, Sexton and Harper played until late at night. And, at least early on, Sexton usually lost.
"We'd go until 11 or 12 o'clock waiting on Collin to get a win," said George Washington, who coached Sexton and Harper at Pebblebrook. "And if he did win, Jared would be like, 'It's a fluke.' And they'd end up playing again and going back and forth, and I'd just end up leaving the gym and leaving them in the gym and going home because we'd be in there all night waiting on those two to finish playing."
They still play whenever they're both home in Georgia. Sessions that typically start with drills and shooting around will transition to these two playing one-on-one and going back and forth like they probably will Wednesday night.
Sexton is one of the top point guards in the country. The same can be said about Harper. And this will be the key matchup when Alabama plays Auburn, Sexton vs. Harper.
If their one-on-one games are any indication, expect it to be competitive, intense and fun to watch.
"Jared has unlimited range, so Collin has to pick him up right when he crosses half-court when they play in a high school gym because Jared will pull it (and shoot)," Washington said. "But Collin is really physical, so Jared has to be very smart and be quick and use his quick hands to pop the ball. ... When Collin first came, Jared was teaching Collin the ins and outs of how to read people's feet and how to know when to attack, when to pull, how to do those subtle things that Jared knew how to do that Collin had to learn from Jared. Once Collin got 'em, oh my goodness, it was a war. They would go back and forth."
The one-on-one games have been like that -- with the two usually trading wins -- ever since midway through Sexton's first season at Pebblebrook, which is when he began to emerge as a big-time recruit.
Led by Sexton and Harper, Pebblebrook finished that 2015-16 season 23-10 and led by as many as 11 points during the second half of the state championship game before losing in overtime.
Sexton, who was a junior, averaged 28 points per game. Harper, who was a senior, averaged 27.
Sexton then averaged 33 points per game as a senior.
Now, these two are well established as two of the SEC's top playmakers entering this matchup Wednesday night.
Sexton is third in the SEC in scoring with an average of 18.1 points per game for the 17-10 Crimson Tide. Harper is averaging 13.5 points and is third in the conference in assists (5.8 per game) for 23-4 Auburn.
Alabama coach Avery Johnson has referred to the 5-foot-10, 170-pound Harper as "the maestro" of Auburn's offense, which is averaging an SEC-best 84.7 points per game.
"It was pretty fun watching them when you had a chance to watch 'em practice and play against each other and play with each other," Johnson said. "Two guys that are pretty dynamic in terms of their scoring ability and breaking defense's down and their speed and hand-eye coordination, all those things that we look for, reaction, coachability and having what I call high basketball I.Q. for being such young guys at that time."
Sexton didn't play during the Tide's win over Auburn Jan. 17 because of an abdominal injury. So this, according to Sexton, will be the first time these two have played in an actual game since Sexton was in the eighth grade.
They've played one-on-one as recently as December, though.
Both were home in Georgia during a collective break from school and met at Pebblebrook.
As usual, it began as a typical workout before transitioning to essentially an early preview of Wednesday night.
The five or six players that were in the gym sat around and watched, as did Washington and others, as these two battled in games that went to five points.
As Washington remembers it, that day ended as a split win-wise.
"As coaches, we end up getting them off the court because it gets very testy and they both think they're the best point guard," Washington said, laughing. "They go forever. It will go on and on until someone finally says 'It's time to go, guys. Get your shoes.' Or someone's wife calls and says 'It's time to go.' These are two of the hardest workers. So as a program, we're very excited to see these two guys match up against each other."
Matt Zenitz is an Alabama beat writer for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @mzenitz.