Mohamed Hachad sits by his desk in front of pictures of his family set against the vast Moroccan sky.

A silver and black No. 9 San Antonio Spurs cap and a Tony Parker bobble-head doll rests on the desk occupied by T.J. Parker, Tony’s younger brother.

50 Cent’s “In da Club,” hums out from Parker’s cell phone, indicating he has a call. A smile crosses his face as he flips open the phone and speaks rapidly in French.

Hachad knows right away that T.J. is talking to Tony. The Spurs’ starting point guard is checking up on his little brother, Hachad says. T.J. had sat out practice that day because he was sick.

Tony Parker is at the level the the freshmen roommates want to reach. He was drafted by the Spurs at age 19 and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team in 2002.

“Like every little kid’s dream, we’re trying to get there,” T.J. Parker said.

Parker and Hachad have no trouble thinking about the future, about life in the apartment they will share next year or about the prestige they can bring Northwestern on the basketball court.

“We want to be efficient and win as many games as we can,” Hachad said, “and take the Northwestern name all over the country.”

‘We’re like brothers’

The Allison Hall roommates first met at NU during Hachad’s official visit in April 2002. The two then-recruits scrimmaged with last year’s Cats’ squad and were impressed by each other’s ability.

“Right away you notice with the guy — he can get up,” Parker said.

Added Hachad: “He was running all over, making all kinds of shots.

“It excited me because anytime I see anyone my age that amazes me, I’m just like, ‘I want to play with him again.'”

But it was after the practice that they discovered what would tie them together.

“It was pretty cool because the first five minutes we were just talking in French about soccer and all sorts of other things outside of basketball,” Hachad said.

The connection was made, and it has brought the players — who grew up on two separate continents, thousands of miles away from Evanston — closer than either of them expected.

“We do pretty much everything together,” Parker said. “Go to the library, go out, eat, everything. We’re like brothers.”

Hachad lived in Morocco before moving to Montreal when he was 15, and Parker grew up in France before moving to Lisle, Ill., at age 16. Their arrival added more international flavor to an NU squad already laden with foreign players.

“I was already prepared for T.J. and Mohamed,” junior guard Jitim Young said. “You know, my name means, ‘I love you’ in French.”

Making a backcourt

The freshmen have started in the Cats’ backcourt for the past nine games. NU has gone 3-6 since Hachad joined the starting lineup, after an 0-5 Big Ten start.

NU coach Bill Carmody said the benefits of Hachad and Parker playing together early in their career will show up down the road.

“It’s very important,” Carmody said. “As they get more and more time together and figure out the kinks, everything improves. The more familiar you are with the guy’s moves, the better off you are.”

NU’s current backcourt would have never formed if Hachad hadn’t decided to leave his prep school early.

The native of Casablanca, Morocco, came out of his prep school in Quebec after one year instead of the usual two because he had already found what he was looking for.

“I had a lot of (scholarship) offers, most were for the following year,” Hachad said. “But I wanted to be challenged not only on the basketball court but also with school.”

Parker was another steal for Carmody during the late signing period.

“I had a lot of options, but the thing about Northwestern is I like the coaches and the offense here,” Parker said. “I want to make something, and we’ve never been to the tournament before. I’d like to make that happen.”

After their introduction in April, the two players kept in touch during the summer while Parker competed on the French Junior National Team and Hachad attended classes at NU to secure his eligibility. It was through this correspondence that they decided to room together.

cracking the code

Since they moved into the Mole Hole, the all-guys first floor in Allison, a new language has flowed through the hallway.

“It’s always French,” Parker said. “I’ll make fun of his mom, he’ll make fun of my mom. And our jokes are so much funnier in French.”

Parker said he gave Mohamed a good-humored tongue-lashing for putting in a gentle layup on an open-court opportunity against Illinois on Feb. 22.

“He showed me his (recruiting) highlight tape,” Parker said. “It was disgusting. He had some plays that were just incredible. But then he just lays it in. It’s good to get the crowd up with a little dunk.”

But the pair’s language hasn’t spared them from ridicule.

“We’ll all be sitting here in our room, and they’ll be talking shit about God knows what,” said Matt Breen, a Mole Hole resident.

Added Mole Holer Bob Morrow: “It pisses me off. It’s like some damn secret code.”

But for Parker and Hachad, speaking their native language has provided a wide range of benefits.

“It’s especially good on the court,” Hachad said. “I speak to T.J. in French and it’s good motivation because he’s used to listening to people encouraging him like that. And it works that way for me, too.”

Parker’s special brand of encouragement was especially helpful during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, when Hachad couldn’t eat or drink from sunrise to sunset.

The 180-pound guard lost seven pounds during the month and struggled through daytime practices without water.

He would wake up each day before sunrise to eat breakfast, and his roommate tried to support him as best he could.

“I got up twice to eat with him, but it was way too early for me,” Parker said. “I was like, ‘Mo, I’ll get up with you twice, but I’m done after that.'”

The physical strain made it harder for Hachad to learn the NU offense, and turnover problems limited his minutes early in the season.

But he worked through his struggles and cracked the Cats’ starting lineup Jan. 29 in the team’s 69-50 loss at Wisconsin.

Three games later, Hachad stole the spotlight with a 12-point, six-steal performance in the Cats’ breakout win over Indiana.

Work to be done

Carmody said he has enjoyed seeing the tandem develop, but doesn’t want them getting big heads.

“Like most freshmen, their defense has to improve for starters,” Carmody said. “Little guards (like Parker) have to be a pain in the neck. They’ve got to be like Mugsy Bogues. A ballhandler sees him and just groans, ‘Oh, I’m in for that?’

“Mohamed steals balls, but he loses track of his man. He’s doing some flamboyant things, but you need bread and butter, too.”

? ? ?

Back in Allison’s Mole Hole, Parker leans back in his chair. He hasn’t forgotten that the Cats’ NCAA tournament hopes aren’t out of reach yet.

“We can win these next games and then we’d have some serious momentum going into Big Tens,” he says.

“And then …” Hachad chimes in.

The Cats’ first tournament berth probably won’t happen this season. But with three years remaining, Parker and Hachad have time to develop and lead the Cats over the hump — with a French twist.

“We’ve got one more year with Jitim,” Parker said. “And we get Vedran (Vukusic) back, so we should be set.

“And after that, as long as I can play with Mo, it’ll be cool.”

Photos by jasper chen/the daily northwestern

French-speaking freshmen Mohamed Hachad (left) and T.J. Parker developed an instant bond on and off the court. Both have emerged as fixtures in the Wildcats’ starting lineup this season.