Tiarra East plays basketball because of her brother, Sean. She changed her jersey number to honor him.

Fans may have noticed that Temple’s Tiarra East looked a bit different as she took the court for her junior season with the Owls.

East wore No. 5 for her first two years on North Broad Street, but Monday against Delaware State she debuted a new number: 55.

East first revealed the number change on Episode 4 of the team’s social media show “Kickin’ it with Coach Rich.”

The reason behind her decision? She wanted to honor her brother, Sean, a graduate guard at Missouri.

According to Tiarra, the two are practically twins. The siblings, who are three years apart, not only share a birthday (Nov. 17) but also a love for basketball.

They were born and raised in Louisville, Ky., and Tiarra describes the two as being “very tight.” The East kids did everything from ride the bus to eat dinner together in their younger years.

“We wouldn’t leave each other’s side,” Sean said. “We took care of each other.”

Coincidentally, neither Sean nor Tiarra originally played basketball.

They both attended Sean’s football games. While Sean was on the field, Tiarra was on the sidelines cheerleading.

When Sean decided he wanted to play basketball, Tiarra became interested in the sport.

“I got into basketball because of my brother,” Tiarra said. “I would always go to the practices and workouts and watch them.”

» READ MORE: Temple will look very different this season. That’s just fine for coach Diane Richardson.

Tiarra played basketball casually before taking the sport more seriously in middle school. Sean would then help her train and work on her game. Not only is Sean the reason Tiarra plays the game, he’s also the player Tiarra models her game after.

“I look up to him a lot,” Tiarra said. “I’m like another version of him, he’s just left-handed.”

There is no one who can attest to that statement more than their trainer, Jeremiah Bell.

Bell is a former Division I basketball player for Alabama Birmingham who has been training Tiarra since the summer leading into her sophomore season.

“They are always engaged in every basketball setting,” Bell said. “They both have a very high skill set … the dog aspect, the energetic aspect and work ethic as well.”

Tiarra was always naturally talented, but she blossomed as a player after taking the sport seriously.

She took her game to another level as a sophomore, so much so that she earned her first scholarship offer at the Murray State Elite Camp leading into her junior year of high school.

Ultimately, Tiarra chose Temple. “This is where they showed the most love,” she said.

Now, both Tiarra and Sean are Division I athletes, which means they mostly see each other during holiday breaks and summers. But the two text each other every day and talk on the phone at least twice a week.

Despite his busy schedule, Sean still finds ways to help out his younger sister.

Tiarra comes into her junior season at Temple expected to have a big role in coach Diane Richardson’s system. Without Sean, Tiarra may not be where she is today.

“She always calls me about moves and different things and IQ plays,” Sean said. “[I] also talk [to her] about things off the court, life things … simple things that a big brother is supposed to do.”

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