SPRINGDALE -- "F4" is tattooed between two stars on D.J. Evans' left wrist.

Chris Owens gets asked about the meaning behind the group nickname all the time. So does Evans and the other group members, Tereke Eckwood and TreShawn Gause.

People have asked to join the group since it was formed. But F4 isn't looking to expand past its quartet.

"It's a secret society," Owens said.

And it just so happens to include four of Springdale High's top players on a team that won a share of the 7A/6A-West conference championship and enters the Class 7A tournament today with title aspirations as the West's No. 1 seed.

Eckwood came up with the F4 name in the fall.

"I just was thinking and I put it together: F4," the junior point guard said. "We always said 'feed the family.' Now it's 'Feed the Family, Forget the Fame.'"

Eckwood, Evans and Gause were in the midst of fall basketball practices when they ironed out the group name and who the members were. Owens was still in the middle of football season, but got an invite.

"We were talking about it when Tereke made it up, like, 'That's hot, that's hot,'" Gause said. "But we needed to come up with a name. So it was four F's. So, F4. And then we were like, who's the fourth? And I was like, 'We've got to throw my man Chris up in there.' So we put him up in there. Ever since then, boy, we've been clean."

F4 has since become a hot topic around the school and on social media, where group members and non-members alike often post about it, stylizing it #F4 on Twitter and Instagram.

"We started a trending topic on Twitter," Gause said. "If you just put hashtag F on it, the four is fixing to pop up right next. It's popping up now."

The group wasn't formed solely because its members played basketball together. Eckwood, Gause, Evans and Owens are all close off the court.

They hang out away from basketball on an almost daily basis, most of the time spent joking around or debating, whether it be about a certain group member's flip phone, who is the best at NBA 2K or who has the best shoe collection, a heated contest that has spilled over to the footwear worn during games.

"They all think they have mad shoe game," Springdale coach Brad Stamps said. "That's all they talk about."

Their bond off the court makes it easy to see why their chemistry on the hardwood is so strong. It also goes a long way toward explaining Springdale's 20-5 record and an impressive resume that includes marquee wins over Bentonville, Van Buren (twice) and Fort Smith Northside entering state.

"When you throw that in with talent and the fact that they're close, tight-knit and look out for each other, that's dangerous," Stamps said of the group's bond.

And F4 is plenty talented.

Owens (12.0 points per game), Eckwood (12.0) and Evans (10.8) are the team's three leading scorers. Owens provides a smooth offensive game, Eckwood a knack for getting to the basket and Evans an ability to create for himself and others.

Gause has come off the bench in 21 of Springdale's 25 games. But his role as a high-energy, on-ball perimeter defender has been key for the Bulldogs, who thrive when they turn up the defensive intensity and pressure.

"To be real, since I'm the one that comes off the bench, when I come in the game I look at all of them," Gause said. "And then they shake their head, I'm like, 'All right, it's go time. Let's turn it up.' And then D.J., what do we do? (claps hands) 'Let's get it.'"

Springdale has proven it can play with the top teams in the state when it is locked in like that. Most recently, the Bulldogs routed Bentonville 68-53, then beat Van Buren 56-48 in the final week of the regular season to grab the conference's top seed.

The two wins gave Springdale its first 20-win season since 2000. But F4 and the rest of the Bulldogs are aiming for three more victories and a state title.

"The best is fixing to come out," Gause said. "We tough."

Sports on 03/08/2014