There is a rhyme and reason the Hawaii basketball team is considering some situations in which point guards Brocke Stepteau and Drew Buggs will be paired in the same lineup.

“We get along on and off the court,” Buggs said.

That was apparent with the recent musical collaboration among Stepteau, Buggs, Brandon Thomas and Leland Green. They recorded a song, “No Flop,” which led to a video that is now a viral hit.

“We brought our own energy, put our own style on it,” Stepteau said. “That’s what people like the most. Us being ourselves.”

Stepteau, a senior who has been involved in music for several years, was searching for a recording studio during his redshirt freshman season at UH. The answer was Thunder Studios, a full-service facility in Kalihi.

More than a year ago, Mike Thomas, who was a UH senior at the time, told Stepteau that his younger brother, Brandon Thomas, was an accomplished rapper. Stepteau heard Brandon Thomas, and “that’s how we started our connection as far as music.”

For some time, Buggs had asked to work on one of Stepteau’s songs.

“I really like music,” said Buggs, whose alma mater, Long Beach Poly, counts Warren G and Snoop Dogg as alumni. “It’s something I have a passion for. I told Brocke, ‘let me get a chance.’”

Buggs’ initial attempt was flawed.

“I needed to retry it with a different song,” Buggs said.

Buggs found a beat that he sent to Stepteau and Thomas. After shared input, Thomas finalized the hook. The four players then wrote their own segments.

For Stepteau, the creative process begins with the beat.

“I don’t write without a beat,” Stepteau said.

Stepteau said it usually takes a day to complete his lyrics.

“I’ll go back and mimic it in my head to think about how it’s going to sound,” Stepteau said. “When you get back to the studio, you’re paying for time. You don’t want to waste a lot of time scrapping what you did in there because you’re going to waste money.

“I like to come in there prepared. I usually write and the next day I’ll record. It’s kind of like another form of studying for me.”

Stepteau and Thomas encouraged Buggs and Green to rehearse extensively.

“You can’t come in and just read off your phone,” Stepteau said. “You have to bring energy to it. That’s something they picked up naturally.”

The recording received positive feedback, leading to production of an accompanying video. The players contacted Chelsea Vasquez, a former video coordinator for the Rainbow Wahine basketball team. Vasquez now works at Chaminade University.

Vasquez set up the location — the Pali Lookout and surrounding area — and directed the players to be themselves. They danced and lip-synced to a recording playing from a portable sound system.

The video can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luixam1jkhU

“It was a like a team anthem,” Stepteau said.

Of the song’s theme, Buggs said: “No flop. You don’t flake on each other. We’ve got each other’s back. That’s something we try to live by.”