PHOTOGRAPH BY CAMERON STROUD, DESIGN BY JOVELLE ABBEY TAMAYO / PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

Rutgers, a team picked to finishsecond-to-last in the Big East.

“No [Big East] coach wentthrough Chicago State or madethe steps that I made to get to theBig East,” Rice said. “So, I’m notgoing out lightly. I will be swing-ing every single day and therewill be some setbacks … but thisprogram is going to be successfuland we are going to be relevant inthe Big East sooner than later.”

And herein lies my opinion: Iam buying what Rice is selling.This team will surprise some BigEast schools.

The majority believes that it isgoing to take a few years beforeRutgers turns it around withsome major recruiting classes,and that is true. But under Rice,the 2010-11 squad will also makea name for itself.

The steadfast reasoningbehind this thesis is one date:Feb. 14, 2010.

It was on this date that aHill-led squadupset then-No. 7Georgetown, 71-68, for theKnights’ highest-ranked upsetsince a 1982 winover No. 6 WestVirginia. It wasone of only 13conference winsin Hill’s time

in Piscataway. If a Rutgers team coached

by one of the worst coaches inschool history — statistically— can take down a top-10team, then who’s to say thatRice cannot circle the wagonsand put together a six-win con-ference season?

Yes, the team’s leading scoreris gone. Yes, the team’s emotion-al leader is gone.

But the Knights landed ahigh-profile recruit in perhapsthe most important position:head coach.

And that is a position where change will have animmediate impact.

— A.J. Jankowski is an associate sports editor for

The Daily Targum andaccepts comments, criticisms

and witticisms atjankowskialex@gmail.com.

T H E D A I L Y T A R G U MT IPOFFT 2 N O V E M B E R 1 0 , 2 0 1 0

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP

JAMESBEATTYPoint guardSenior6’-2”, 190 lbs.

MIKECOBURNShooting guardSenior6’-0”, 185 lbs.

DANEMILLERSmall forwardSophomore6’-7”, 215 lbs.

JONATHANMITCHELLPower forwardSenior6’-7”, 225 lbs.

GILVYDASBIRUTACenterJunior6’-8”, 230 lbs.

BY TYLER BARTOASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR

The Rutgers men’s basket-ball team has been preparing forthe 2010-11 season since itsMarch 9, 69-68 loss toCincinnati in the opening roundof the Big East Tournament.

But it is safe to say that theScarlet Knights did not expectto do so with the team’s cur-rent makeup — and certainlynot in the style in which theyhave prepared.

“It’s tough — it’s like hockey,in and out,” said sophomore DaneMiller, the conference’s 2009-10Rookie of the Year runner-up. “Ifyou mess up once, you’re comingout of the game. But then again[head coach Mike Rice] talks toyou and throws you back in.”

Such is the culture under Rice,the former Robert Morris headman who inked a five-year con-tract on May 6 with Rutgers.

With Rice comes an entirelynew coaching staff, a fifth-yeartransfer, three freshman recruitsand an entirely new attitude.

“They’re getting used to me,”Rice said. “And they’re gettingused to the type of formula that Iwant to put in, the type of mental-ity and culture that I think a win-ning basketball team shouldhave. I love that I have three sen-iors who have a chip on theirshoulders that they want to provea lot of people wrong. We weredealt an interesting hand.”

Senior guards James Beattyand Mike Coburn, as well as for-ward Jonathan Mitchell, comeinto their final campaign on theheels of an offseason that wasanything but modest.

Three players transferredfrom the program since the

beginning of the 2009-10 season,including two-time leading scorerMike Rosario, who now makeshis residency in Gainesville, Fla.

Former head coach Fred HillJr. resigned on April 19 amid alle-gations surrounding his involve-ment in a dispute at a Pittsburgh-Rutgers baseball game.

All the controversy aside, theKnights finally get a chance to getback on the court, amidst a new-found optimism for the program.

“It’s refreshing because therewas a span of consistent thingafter thing of negativity,” saidsophomore forward AustinJohnson. “I got sick and tired ofhearing it. It was refreshing whenwe finally got the coach … thathas so much pride in winning, aguy who works as hard as [Rice]does to instill that pride in us. Theend result will be somethingRutgers can be proud of gameafter game after game.”

Rice not only brings hispatented “comfortable in chaos”mentality but also a new philoso-phy on scheduling.

Rutgers takes the court in2010-11 against two teams from“Big Six” conferences in Miamiat the Louis Brown AthleticCenter and Auburn as a part ofthe DIRECTV SEC/Big East Challenge.

The Knights also match witswith Atlantic 10 foe St. Joseph’sbefore taking on North Carolinaat Madison Square Garden to endtheir nonconference schedule.

“You play North Carolina andthen you go play [Villanova],you won’t be as nervous as youwould be against other teamsbefore Villanova,” Miller said.“We just played North Carolina,what’s the point of being nerv-ous? We don’t need to be nerv-

ous. There’s no excuse — it’sjust another game.”

The 2009-10 Knights alsoplayed the Tar Heels beforeembarking on a Big Eastschedule that saw the team winfive games and finish 14th inthe conference.

But Rutgers also played therole of spoiler, upsetting NotreDame and then-No. 7Georgetown in the process.

None of those considerationsmattered to the Big East coaches,who tabbed the Knights to finish15th in the league — ahead oflowly DePaul.

“You have to expect that, withthe consideration of what the pro-gram’s been through over the lastfew years,” Beatty said of the pre-season rankings. “At the sametime we’re not just going to laydown and let guys just come inand not fight, scratch and claw toget wins.

“We understand the oddsagainst us, with everyone count-ing us out. When we step on thecourt, we lace [our shoes] up justlike they do.”

Rice knows a thing or twoabout playing the spoiler as well.

But Rutgers is not in theNortheast Conference, and theKnights do not play hockey.

None of that concerns Rice,who knows the differencebetween success in 2010 and suc-cess in the future is only a substi-tution away.

“We just have to play withmore of a purpose and improveevery single day,” Rice said.“Again, they’re trying. They’regiving everything they’ve got asfar as their effort. We have toimprove. But the beauty of MikeRice is that I’m thinking about thenext two hours.”

PAUL CHUNG

Senior captain James Beatty took over point guard responsibilities in the offseason after splitting timewith classmate Mike Coburn at the position last season but will need to take on more of a scoring role.

New mentality emerges from outset

Rice hiring increasesRU’s upset potential

F or evidence that thingshave changed for theRutgers men’s basketball

team, look no further than theteam’s trio of senior captains.

All three played under formerhead coach Fred Hill Jr. and nowembark on their final seasonunder the guise of Mike Rice inhis first year with the program.

“The intensity, the dedicationand the hard work has picked uptremendously,” said guard JamesBeatty, one of the three captains.“I think everybody has turned itup a level. Since the coachingchange, we’ve been competinglike crazy duringpractice. Everypractice, everydrill is a competi-tion.”

And for theScarlet Knights tobecome competi-tive in one of thenation’s toughestconferences —something theynever were in Hill’s four-yeartenure — they are going to haveto pick off some top-tier teams.

Taking down a Big Eastschool is nothing new to Rice, ashis Robert Morris squad wenttoe-to-toe last year with No. 2-seed Villanova in the first roundof the NCAA Tournament.

The Colonials eventually fell,73-70, in overtime, but it was thispenchant for upsets that preced-ed Rice’s arrival to the Banks.

“I didn’t really know too muchabout him at first,” said senior cap-tain Jonathan Mitchell. “But whenI found out that he was the RobertMorris coach and they almost beat‘Nova, then I was definitely excit-ed. He brings a lot of intensity andpassion to the game.”

Being the underdog is noth-ing new to Rice, whose coachingcareer started out at ChicagoState. The underdog mentalityfits perfectly when talking about

A.J. JANKOWSKI

BuffaloSoldier

“The underdogmentality fits

perfectly when talking about

Rutgers.”

CAMERON STROUD

Head coach Mike Rice took Robert Morris to the NCAA Tournamenteach of the past two seasons, when it won the Northeast Conference.

T H E D A I L Y T A R G U M N O V E M B E R 1 0 , 2 0 1 0 T 3T IPOFF

BY STEVEN MILLERSPORTS EDITOR

Before Mike Rice ran a sin-gle practice with the Rutgersmen’s basketball team, hespoke of the intensity andurgency with which his pro-gram would operate.

Before he took over that pro-gram, the newly unveiled headcoach sat at a podium and spokeof the relationships that wouldallow him to build it.

Before Athletic DirectorTim Pernetti unveiled him, thepair met at a hotel and Ricespoke in more detail aboutthose relationships — aboutAAU and high school coacheshe knew in the area, aboutassistants he would like tobring with him to Rutgers.

The 41-year-old used thoserelationships to sell himself toRutgers, and then he sold hisnew Rutgers to the coaches andplayers with which he hadthose relationships.

With his patented intensityand urgency, Rice spoke to bas-ketball figureheads throughoutthe metropolitan area to let themknow exactly what he was aboutto do:

“Recruit, recruit and dosome more recruiting,” Ricesaid. “The downfall of some ofthe metropolitan teams orRutgers has been they haven’tpulled in enough of the talentthat is so prevalent in the metro-politan area or within a five-hourdrive from [Washington] D.C. toBoston. That’s the first lifelineof a good program: to recruitgood players.”

But it began with a coachingstaff — one which Rice believes isamong the best in the Big East.

Assistant coach JimmyMartelli, who followed Ricefrom Robert Morris where herecruited along the East Coast,was the first piece. Assistantcoach Van Macon joined thefold with strong ties to NewYork City basketball. And DavidCox became associate headcoach with a Big East coachingrésumé and links to theWashington D.C. area.

The staff filled out the ScarletKnights’ depleted roster for thisseason, then turned its attentionto the Class of 2011, which hadseven scholar-ships to offer.

Rutgers hashad a coach con-sidered a starrecruiter before— Fred Hill Jr.

And it has hadstar recruitsbefore — MikeRosario andG r e g o r yEchenique.

But it has nothad an NCAATournament appearance since1991 or a winning season since2006. It has not had a sold outLouis Brown Athletic Center. Ithas not had excitement. It has nothad success.

It did have an implosion in thespring, when Pernetti turned toRice and his staff to rebuild.

“This is truly going to take avillage in every aspect,” Cox said.“Recruiting-wise, it takes all of us.A lot of times in the paper, we areidentified specifically as beingresponsible for this young manchoosing the school, and that hasnot been the case in any situation.

“We all develop relationshipswith recruits and it takes a village

in that regard. And yes, it’s goingto take all of those young menwho choose to come in to playimportant roles in order for thisteam to be successful.”

Those seven commitments areheadlined by a group of fiveranked in Rivals’ Top 150prospects. There are two centers,two shooting guards and twopoint guards.

And there is Kadeem Jack.The nation’s No. 33-ranked

prospect headlines the group,but he also fits perfectly intoRice’s mentality that returning

Rutgers to rele-vancy will takemore than one.

“I don’t thinkit would be rightfor me to justassume that typeof leadershiprole,” said the 6-foot-8 forwardwho will redshirtat Rutgers in thespring. “I’ll go inand work hardand try to set an

example for everyone else, so if ithappens, it happens. You don’tjust speak and be a leader — youlead by example. I’m sure all ofthe other guys coming in will bedoing the same things, also.There isn’t just one leader.”

Jack can speak to his fellowcommitments’ attitudes becausehe knows them personally. Rice isbuilding Rutgers on relationships,and it extends to everyone.

Jack spent part of August inTurkey with a New York all-starteam. His teammates were guardMike Taylor and 16th-ranked cen-ter Derrick Randall.

After Paterson Catholicclosed, Randall transferred to

South Kent (Conn.), but first heplayed with best friend and thenation’s No. 23-ranked pointguard, Myles Mack.

Mack knows fellow pointguard Jerome Seagears, thenation’s No. 99 prospect whomarks the jump to theWashington D.C. area, wherehe knows and plays against thenation’s No. 14-ranked center,Greg Lewis, and guard Malick Kone.

They are all Rutgers commitments.

“I believe that our recruitingclass is going to do things thatare way better than anyRutgers basketball team everdid,” the 6-foot-9 Randall said.“We have Myles Mack,Kadeem Jack, me, Mike Taylor,Jerome Seagears, Greg Lewis,Malick Kone — we’re all greatplayers. If we work hard andplay together, then it’s going tobe special.”

The commitments and coach-ing staf f speak of doing thisrebuilding project togetherbecause they understand theburden is too much for one manto bear.

There was an attempt at thatbefore, and then Rice took thehelm with nothing but theremaining rubble, his past rela-tionships and a willingness touse them.

“My job is to create that buzz,create that energy about our pro-gram and get the individual stu-dent-athlete thinking about whathe can do to turn this programaround, being on the groundfloor,” Rice said.

Before he even coached agame for Rutgers, Rice succeed-ed at his job, if only because theground floor is awfully crowded.

“This is truly going totake a village in every

aspect. ... We alldevelop relationships

with recruits and it takes a village.”

DAVID COXAssociate Head Coach

MIKE RICEHEAD COACH

DAVID COXASSOCIATE HEAD COACH

VAN MACONASSISTANT COACH

JIMMY MARTELLIASSISTANT COACH

COACHING STAFF

Rice, new coaching staff make immediate impact on recruiting trail, pulling in group of seven prospects to contribute to rebuilding effort

PAUL CHUNG

First-year head men’s basketball coach Mike Rice and the coaching staff he assembled, which includes (left to right) Jimmy Martelli, David Cox and VanMacon, recruited the nation’s sixth-ranked class for 2011 before even coaching a game as part of their rebuilding project on the Scarlet Knights’ sideline.

EQUAL SHARES

T I PT 4 N O V E M B E R 1 0 , 2 0 1 0

CHANGING OF

BY TYLER BARTOASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR

Dane Miller doesn’t mind thespotlight. So when the Rutgersmen’s basketball team and itsstar sophomore take on a muchtougher nonconference sched-ule in 2010-11, nerves shouldnot be a problem.

“For us to come out andautomatically get Miami andAuburn — and then go to UNCand then after UNC go to ‘Nova— I love that,” Miller said.“That right there gets all the jit-ters out. You can’t be nervousin those games. If you’re nerv-ous in those first five minutes, you might be down 20 [points].”

Miller will undoubtedly bethe opposing teams’ No. 1 prior-ity after a freshman campaignthat saw him finish second in Big East Rookie of the Year voting behind now-pro Lance Stephenson.

But the Rochester, N.Y.,native also has a target on hisback in practice, where first-year head coach Mike Ricedemands the most out of theplayer who ranked second inthe conference in both scoring(11.9) and rebounding (6.3)among rookies last season.

“Dane Miller didn’t get a sub[two weeks ago] during prac-tice,” Rice said. “He was com-pletely exhausted and themoment he rested was themoment I jumped down histhroat. Dane had a problem

with that. After speaking withhim, he understands it.”

Miller finds himself in aprecarious situation prior tohis sophomore campaign.He expected to havefellow wingplayers MikeRosario —the team’sl e a d i n gscorer thepast twoseasons— andP a t r i c kJ a c k s o nback toease hisprogres-sion.

B o t hR o s a r i oa n dJ a c k s o nt r a n s -f e r r e dafter the2 0 0 9 - 1 0s e a s o n ,leaving thespotlight onMiller’s rangy,6-foot-7 frame asthe ScarletKnights’ go-toscorer. But thatdoesn’t mean Millerminds the pressure.

The sophomoreguard/forward hybridspent his AAU dayswatching futureNBA pros O.J.

Mayo and Bill Walkerwear a whole team’sresponsibility on their backs.

And Miller insists hisnew coach is ready for thespotlight, too.

“If you’re a basket-ball player, that’swhat you want,”Miller said. “The

other schools in NewJersey are good, but it’snothing like playing an

ACC team the third gameof the year or then play

North Carolina … onthe biggest stage in

the world [atM a d i s o n

S q u a r eGarden].O u rc o a c hcan’t wait

for it. Iknow Coach Rice definite-ly can’t. Him across from[UNC head coach] RoyWilliams and get the ‘W’?That’s big.”

Miller tallied 11 pointsin 27 minutes last year

against the Tar Heels at DeanE. Smith Center, but his comingout par ty came three weeksearlier, when Miller dropped15 points in a Dec. 6 win over Colgate.

From there, Miller’s tanta-lizing dunks became as com-monplace at the Louis BrownAthletic Center as his patented grin.

But Miller is out to provethat he’s more than just a stat-stuffer on offense — that Rice’sconstant attention to detail inpractice is warranted.

“I think it will improve,” saidMiller of his defense. “A lot ofpeople do talk about me dunk-ing the ball, but truthfully Idon’t really jump that high. Thestuff I do on defense shouldhelp even moreand it has to helpfor us to be suc-cessful and mebecoming a bet-ter player.”

Miller showeda taste of his abil-ity in an 80-68scrimmage victo-ry over McGill onNov. 1, when hescored 19 pointsand nabbed 12rebounds in 27 minutes.

But Miller and the rest ofthe Knights insist there is still along way to go under a newcoaching staf f and a retooledroster.

“Some fouls early in thegame [against McGill] kind oftook us out of the rhythm,” saidsenior for ward JonathanMitchell, the team’s leadingreturning scorer. “We’re stillworking the kinks out, we stillhave a long way to go. CoachRice is pleased with some ofthe things. Obviously we’llcome in, watch some film andsee what we did wrong.”

No other player draws morecriticism from Rice than Miller,who was able to rest behindRosario and since-graduatedBig East Defensive Player ofthe Year Hamady N’Diaye.

But Miller is not looking tohide from the added spotlight,especially with Rutgers nowplaying on a bigger stage underthe upstart Rice.

So far, Ricelikes what hesees out of thesophomore whoplayed the role ofunderstudy lastyear — althoughhe wouldn’t admitit in practice.

“If we contin-ue to move andshare the ball, Ithink Dane willhave a greatyear,” Rice said.

“Dane is a handful once he getsmomentum going to the bas-ket. And so the system — howwe do things, the constantmotion and constant screening— I think will help Dane andthe rest of the guys open thefloor for him. Dane certainlytakes advantage of that.

“He’s learning the consis-tency you need to be one of thebest players in the Big East.It’s not just the spectacularthings. It’s the smaller thingsthat will help us win games thisyear. Dane has to buy intodoing the small things. I’mhard on my best players.”

ANDREW HOWARD / SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Sophomore Dane Miller finished second in the Big East Rookie of the Year voting behind former Cincinnati Bearcat Lance Stephenson — the two unanimous selectionsto the conference’s All-Rookie team. The guard/forward hybrid averaged 11.9 points per game and 6.3 rebounds last season in the Scarlet Knights’ league play.

Miller embraces scoring role after impressive freshman year

“A lot of people do talk about medunking the ball,

but truthfully I don’t really

jump that high.”DANE MILLER

Sophomore Guard

Rushdan is the only academ-ic senior on the roster, butbecause of an ACL tear during a game against Templeher freshman season, she has two years of eligibility remaining.

But Rushdan has three yearsunder Stringer in the Rutgersprogram and is poised to take

over Ray’s lead-ership void.

“I’ve beenwith April[Sykes] and thatgroup for a longtime, going onthree yearsnow,” Rushdansaid. “We’re allmore than com-for table withone another. Tonot have a sen-ior doesn’t real-ly play that

much of a role in our mindsbecause we do have experience, and we do have leadership.”

Can Rushdan do it? Ray says yes.

“I see [Rushdan] beingmore vocal on the court andbeing a floor general,” saidRay, who now plays in Belgiumfor Dexia Namur Capitale.“Watching her grow during mytime spent with her at Rutgersevery year, [Rushdan] seemsto step more out of her comfort zone.

“She was very shy when wefirst met, but now she is the

complete opposite, andthat’s a huge deal.Asking someone to takeon another identitythat’s unnatural to theircharacter is a lot, but it’ssomething that also sig-nals growth, thesame growth Icontinue tosee in[ R u s h d a n ]every year.”

R a y ’ svalue onthe teamfrom lasts e a s o ng o e sbeyond herleadership.Ray startedevery gamefor Rutgerslast seasonand was theonly player on the team toaverage double figures in scoring.

Rushdan is Delaware’s sec-ond all-time leading scorerbehind Elena DelleDonne, whoplays for the Delaware BlueHens, and her scoring willneed to increase this year forthe Knights to compete of f thebat against Stanford and California.

The challenge for Rushdanwithout Ray is balancing thedesperate need for scoringwith the need for leadershipthat Ray did so well last season— all with the weight of the

world on her shoulders,Stringer said.

“Sometimes I feltthat way because of

the doubts madeby critics

that we

would fold andnot be success-ful, but thenagain, it also

ser ved as am o t i v a t i o n a ltool to provee v e r y o n ewrong,” Ray

said. “I feltt h a t[Stringer]n e e d e d

me tostep up,and I waswilling toa c c e p tt h a t

challenge. I wanted to be aleader for my team being

that I had the mostexperience out of everyone.”

Rushdan aver-aged nine points pergame last year for

second-best on thesquad — starting 31 games —and led in assists with 3.6 pergame as the star ting point guard.

With Nikki Speed now a jun-ior, the two will each likely han-dle some point guard duties forthe Scarlet Knights, withRushdan becoming a leadingscoring option.

“I feel completely comfortablewhen the ball is in KhadijahRushdan’s hands,” said junior for-ward Chelsey Lee. “She makessmart decisions. She’s not theplayer like last year. Last year,she’d get all the way in the paintand make a two-foot pass. Thisyear, if Khadijah gets in, she’sscoring. And she’s taking hershot a lot more this year. I defi-nitely see Khadijah stepping up.”

Rushdan was fifth on the teamfrom the floor with a 40 percentshooting clip, but struggled fromlong range, connecting on just 23percent of her shots.

“My main focus is being ableto knock down a consistent

shot,” Rushdan said.“Everybody is always play-

ing me to drive, so it’sjust a way to keepteams on their toes andbe able to score.”

N O V E M B E R 1 0 , 2 0 1 0 T 5O F F

F THE GUARDS

BY SAM HELLMANCORRESPONDENT

Every year the Rutgerswomen’s basketball team losesa major leader, but every yearanother leader is ready to take over.

Head coach C. VivianStringer commonly referred toBrittany Ray’srole on the teamlast year as car-rying the weightof the world onher shoulders,but now she’s gone.

And now it isK h a d i j a hRushdan’s turn totake over.

“ K h a d i j a h ’ sposition wasalways one ofleadership,” saidStringer of the redshirt juniorfrom Wilmington, Del. “She wasable to, at times, take off interms of being the responsibleleader that she must be. Thatalso comes with maturity, butshe was always, position-wise,the leader because she playedpoint [guard].

“She dictated and deter-mined a lot of things, but thistime, she will do the same. Herrole doesn’t change. She can’ttake any time of f because notonly is she the point, but she’sbasically the senior residentbecause of the redshirt yearfor her.”

ANDREW HOWARD / SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Junior guard Khadijah Rushdan averaged nine points per game last season in a complementary scoring role alongside Brittany Ray, who since graduated.Without Ray, head coach C. Vivian Stringer turns to Rushdan not only to score, but to be the elder statesman on a team that lacks a senior presence.

Rushdan marks latest Knight to take over leadership

“I feel completelycomfortable when

the ball is in Khadijah Rushdan’shands. She makessmart decisions.”

CHELSEY LEEJunior Forward

T H E D A I L Y T A R G U MT IPOFFT 6 N O V E M B E R 1 0 , 2 0 1 0

BY ANTHONY HERNANDEZCORRESPONDENT

There may be a number ofquestions surrounding theRutgers women’s basketballteam, but there are twoanswers as to whom will occu-py the post for the ScarletKnights in 2010-11 –– sopho-more Monique Oliver and jun-ior Chelsey Lee.

After establishing theirroles at the four and five,respectively, the duo received achallenge from their Hall ofFame coach.

“We are not tall enough todeal with 90 percent of ouropponents, but should besmart enough and work hardenough to know that we needto block out so that we have achance,” said head coach C.Vivian Stringer. “We want toget after it, get the ball downthe floor and keep our oppo-nents of f-guard by not beingpredictable and so that’s whatI’m hoping to do.”

But with the challengecomes another question: Willthe Knights be able to over-come a height disadvantagedown low?

To start, the numbers fromlast season are not much torave over.

Lee and Oliver, both even inheight at 6-foot-2, scored just7.2 and 5.8 points per game for Stringer last year, respectively.

Still, Lee returns as the lead-ing rebounder from last seasonwith 7.2 per game — an area offocus and welcomed improve-ment thus far for Stringer andher team.

Last year’s squad narrowlyoutrebounded opponents by 0.7boards per game, making theneed for chemistry in the paintbetween the four and five evenmore significant.

“Me and Modefinitely playedwell last year,”Lee said. “Weboth showed a lotof potential at thefour and five duothat we can be.The feeling itgives us in prac-tice is that we tryto go through alot of hits andsometimes we getyelled at.”

As a freshman, Lee barelysaw the floor and following herrookie season made a similartransition to the one Oliver isnow making for the Knights.

With Lee maturing and theduo entering their second sea-son together down low, Stringeris more than happy with theleadership provided by her jun-ior forward.

“I can say that I can seeChelsey [Lee] stepping into abig leadership role as well,”Stringer said. “[Lee] is a veryvocal person and she was com-

ing into her own toward the endof last season and I believe shewill pick up just where she leftoff this season.

“She is also very passionateabout the game and is one ofthose people you do not have totell to work extra because shealready understands that it mustand will be done.”

Even with a lack of scoringproduction from ayear ago, Oliverdoesn’t see anyreason why thepair’s impact can-not be felt on thefloor this season.

Proving vital toboth playersshould be theexperience gainedon the floor lastyear in a seasonthat providedplenty of ups anddowns — leading

up to the team’s opening-roundNCAA Tournament loss to Iowa.

For Oliver especially, the off-season marked an opportunityto work on her mid-range gameto help make her more of a scor-ing threat.

“Really just shooting,” Oliversaid of her focus. “I alreadyhave the post-game down, so it’sbasically just working aroundthe perimeter.”

Shooting is something thatmust improve for both players,according to Stringer, who notedthat to be effective offensively,

Lee and Oliver need to use theirquickness to combat otherteams’ height.

“We do need to stretch it outand [Lee and Oliver] have beenworking more on that,” Stringersaid. “Most of their moves aregoing to be against bigger peo-ple, so you’re going to see themface up more and try to take thepost of f the bounce becauseboth of them handle ball well intight corners.

“They’re not going to be jump-ing over anybody, where theshots that they’re going to putdown are probably more hookshots where they can get away —you know — get that shot off onthat taller player.”

With the season just daysaway, Stringer has made it clearthat height is something work-ing against her team, settingthe stage for the junior-sopho-more duo to guide the Knightsin the paint.

As a Friday date withCalifornia rapidly approaches,there is no need to remind Lee ofhow important the two are to theteam’s overall success.

“I don’t want to say we need tocarry the team by ourselves, butwe definitely know we have amajor role that we have to play,”Lee said. “We are the only post —I mean we can’t foul out — so wetalk about it all the time, how[Oliver] has to be focused on howto play defense. Coach Stringeralways says we’ll never score asmuch as we’ll give up.”

“They’re not goingto be jumping overanybody ... they’regoing to put down

... more hook shots.”C. VIVIAN STRINGER

Head Coach

CHELSEY LEEJUNIOR

MONIQUE OLIVERSOPHOMORE

2009-10 STATS

33 APPEARANCES, 25 STARTS

27.3 MINUTES PER GAME

7.2 POINTS PER GAME

7.2 REBOUNDS PER GAME

.463 FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE

35 BLOCKS

32 APPEARANCES, 1 START

12.9 MINUTES PER GAME

5.8 POINTS PER GAME

3.3 REBOUNDS PER GAME

.608 FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE

20 BLOCKS

ANDREW HOWARD / SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERANDREW HOWARD / SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Junior Chelsey Lee, left, and sophomore Monique Oliver cannot afford to get into any foul trouble this season, as they are the only Scarlet Knights that stand taller than 6-foot-1. The duo is undersized compared to much of the competition it will face, including big opponents in a season-opening weekend against California and No. 3 Stanford.

POST TO POSTLee, Oliver make up Scarlet Knights’ only post players returning with invaluable experience after going through early growing pains

T H E D A I L Y T A R G U M N O V E M B E R 1 0 , 2 0 1 0 T 7T IPOFF

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP

KHADIJAHRUSHDANPoint guardJunior, 5’-9”Wilmington, Del.

NIKKISPEEDShooting guardJunior, 5’-8”Pasadena, Calif.

APRIL SYKESSmall forwardJunior, 6’-0”Starkville, Miss.

MONIQUEOLIVERPower forwardSophomore, 6’-2”Las Vegas, Nev.

CHELSEYLEECenterJunior, 6’-2”Miami, Fla.

BY ANTHONY HERNANDEZCORRESPONDENT

When it comes to playingunder C. Vivian Stringer, herplayers know what to expect.The hard-nosed, active anddefensively stifling style of playis the very mentality that earnedthe Hall of Fame coach 843career victories and will onceagain prove vital in her 16th sea-son on the Banks.

“No one can escape theresponsibility that we have,”Stringer said. “Think about it, ifyou’ve got nine players, wheredo you ever see yourself sittingon the bench? Don’t you lookaround and say, ‘This is what Ican bring to the table?’ We can’tbe successful unless everyoneassumes that.”

On a squad that lacks seniorleadership, one player’s knowl-edge may prove just as valuable.

The team need not look anyfurther than the play of juniorKhadijah Rushdan — the team’sleading returning scorer.

The Wilmington, Del.,native averaged 9 points pergame last season and started in31 contests, but stood in theshadows of then-seniorBrittany Ray, who anchored theteam’s backcourt.

With Ray gone, Rushdan is leftto lead on and off the court, andthe 5-foot-9 point guard is wellprepared to assume control.

“I think it gives me an oppor-tunity to help everybody elseout, to be a positive outlet forever ybody,” Rushdan said of

her playing experience. “Justbeing able to have insight andexperience and being able togive a little bit more knowledgeto the rest of the team that I’vebeen able to gain over the pastthree years.”

The Knights underwent a bitof a down season compared topast successes Rushdan’s lasttime out, as the squad went just19-15 and got knocked out ofthe NCAA Tournament in thefirst round by Iowa.

Last year’s roller coastergave way to a mediocre sev-enth ranking in the preseasonBig East coaches’ poll, butrankings never concern for-ward Chelsey Lee.

The Miami, Fla., nativeenters as the second most expe-rienced on the team after hav-ing logged over 27 minutes agame last season and continuesto worr y solely about theteam’s expectations.

“Honestly I never look at thepolls or the rankings because Ijust don’t believe in them,” Leesaid. “I honestly believe thatwe’ll decide where we’ll finishdepending on how hard we playand how well we work together.”

Much of that work came in theform of an offensively focused off-season, a focal point that Stringernoted as necessary to the matura-tion of the freshman.

Despite having to focus a bitmore on refining the offense ascompared to years past, the headcoach admitted to making smalltweaks to help bring the youngerplayers along faster.

“We’ll try to deal with anorganized, but looser style ofbasketball than what we haveseen in the past,” Stringer said.“You may see some shots thatyou’re wondering where theycame from. I’m probably goingto say the same thing. But hope-fully I can be patient and calmand let it flow.”

With large question markslooming after the team’s project-ed star ting five in Rushdan,sophomore Monique Oliver andjuniors Chelsey Lee, NikkiSpeed and April Sykes, a looserapproach from Stringer maycome at just the right time.

Offensive production fromSykes and Speed lacked a seasonago, as Sykes shot just 15.8 per-cent from beyond the arc andSpeed averaged just 3.7 pointsper game.

Surely, the squad is bankingon improvements from the twoguards, but it could also use aboost from sophomore guardErica Wheeler.

Wheeler averaged just over14 minutes a game last seasonfor the Knights and with a yearof play under her belt, theParkway Academy (Fla.) prod-uct will be ready for a height-ened role.

“The biggest thing I learned[last year] is just playing hardand never giving up,” Wheelersaid. “Even if you know thatyou’re tired, just keep going,because that’s what coach[Stringer] loves. She loves theenergetic players, and she loveshard work. That’s all we do ishard work.”

The youth of the Knightsdoes have its advantages, pro-viding the team meshes wellenough to be impactful foryears to come.

And while many may find waysto outweigh the positives of theKnights’ youth by noting possibledrawbacks, Lee finds no differ-ence between last year’s one-and-done NCAA tournament teamand this one.

“We’re the same team comingback, but I can definitely say thata lot of people don’t believe thatwe’ll be as great,” Lee said. “I’msure a lot of people are wonder-ing, ‘How will they score withoutBrittany Ray?’ So I think the dif-ference is showing a lot of peoplewho had roles –– that were roleplayers last year –– have to beleaders this year, that’s thebiggest thing.”

So while a number of play-ers return with the experienceof a mediocre 2009 campaignunder their belts, they do sowith Stringer’s gritty, blue-col-lar mentality in mind –– thesame mindset that earnedRutgers its national promi-nence in the realm of women’scollege basketball.

Now, when opposing pro-grams step on the floor against aStringer-team, they know whatto expect.

Young squad reflects Stringer’s grit

ANDREW HOWARD / SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Junior point guard Khadijah Rushdan’s experience will provevital to a Rutgers squad that lacks any returning seniors.

BY SAM HELLMANCORRESPONDENT

The days of the “Fab Five” arelong gone.

It has been more than a yearsince Brooklyn Pope orJasmine Dixon stood within theLouis Brown Athletic Centerafter both transferred out ofthe program. And the threethat do remain from one of themost heralded recruiting class-es in women’s basketball histo-ry all admit that they haven’tcome close to playing to their potential.

“Things just weren’t what weexpected,” said junior guardNikki Speed, who was the No. 27recruit in the country in 2008 andco-MVP of the McDonald’s All-American game with Pope. “Noneof us were ready for what we hadto do.”

Speed, along with forwardsApril Sykes and Chelsey Lee,are the three remaining stu-dent-athletes from Rutgershead coach C. Vivian Stringer’s2008 recruiting class. The threecombined for just 67 total startsin the 67 games played sincethe trio joined the squad, whilethe highest point total amongany of them belongs to Lee,who averaged 7.2 points pergame last year.

But with the stars of Rutgerspast like Epiphanny Prince, KiaVaughn and Brittany Ray gone,the triumvirate has no choice butto put things together.

“We’re very different,” Speedsaid. “I don’t know if people cantell just by looking at us, butwe’re a lot more mature fromwhen we first got here.”

Lee, who tried to take on aleadership role by arranging theteam to schedule classes at thesame times in order to have morepractices together, said that matu-rity made a major difference intheir offseason development.

“We’ve matured,” Lee said.“We’ve grown as players. Welearned to listen. Sometimes youjust have to listen. As you getolder, you learn a lot morethings. We’re not in as much of arush as we’ve been the last twoyears. I can say I’ve definitelyseen a growth.”

Lee was probably the least-touted of the five All-Americans tojoin the squad in 2008, ranked as

the No. 38 overall recruit butreturns as Rutgers’ top post play-er after averaging a team-high 7.2boards per game last season.

“Finishing is my top priority,”Lee said. “Finishing is thebiggest focal point. I know I’mgoing to be shooting a lot of freethrows because we all know Ihated free throws last year. And Ineed to be able to hit that 10- to18-foot shot. That’s somethingthat was given to me a lot lastyear that I didn’t take.”

Sykes, who came in as theNo. 2 recruit in the country,struggled mightily to find hershot over her first two seasonsdespite a reputation as a deadlyjump-shooter.

Through two seasons, theStarkville, Miss., native is just a20 percent shooter from long range.

With a return trip to Californiaon the horizon this weekend, theScarlet Knights will see howmuch has truly changed in twoyears for the trio.

While freshmen, the trioplayed on a Rutgers team thatlost to both California andStanford by 48 combined pointsearly in the season.

“Freshman year still hauntsme,” said Speed, who grew up inPasadena, Calif. “I can’t stopthinking about what we allowedto happen. I felt like I couldn’t doanything. It was my first timeplaying and the first time my fam-ily saw me play. When I say ithaunts me, it haunts me in a moti-vational way. This is our chancefor payback.”

Those two losses were a bighit to the pride of the Knights,who eventually recovered tomake a Sweet 16 run inOklahoma City.

But the California disap-pointment happened again thenext season, ending in the firstround of the NCAATournament to Iowa.

“They have a lot of pride,”Stringer said. “They know what’sthere. They have a beautiful lock-er room that they’re really proudof, but when you walk in it, itreminds you of the history. Itreminds you of the great playersthat have come before and thisteam of young women that wehave now are proud. They knowwhat they represent, and theyknow what they need to do.”

ANDREW HOWARD / SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Junior Nikki Speed is one of three remaining recruits from Rutgers’heralded 2008 recruiting class, all of whom start for the Knights.

RU relies on remnantsof ’08 Fab Five class

PHOTOGRAPH BY ANDREW HOWARD / SENIOR STAFF PHOTGRAPHER, DESIGN BY JOVELLE ABBEY TAMAYO / PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR