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NOVEMBER 9, 2012
Rutgers improves strength, mentality BY JOEY GREGORY ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR
It was not a secret last season that the Rutgers men’s basketball team’s biggest weaknesses were youth and inexperience. They contributed to the Scarlet Knights’ 14-18 record and to them winning only a third of their Big East Games “Having such a young team with no seniors really to help guide them, it was truly an interesting year,” said head coach Mike Rice. “We certainly had our growing pains. But to think of that as all being negative is to sell our experience last year short.” This time around, Rice believes the team has used its experience last season to turn its youth into an advantage. He did not lose a single player to graduation, and every one of them has at least a year of college basketball experience. But that is not the only place the Knights have taken a step for ward. “I know we’re stronger. I know we look different,” he said. “I know we have bigger and better depth. I know that this team is closer because they understand they need each other more than they did last year. Those are the strengths of this program right now.” The team, which was composed mostly of freshmen last year, now understands the game of Division-I college basketball better, Rice said. He said that shows up in practice, especially with the backcourt. “You look at the experience that [the guards] have, some of the success they’ve had. I like that,” Rice said. “I like that they now, when I tell them, ‘You know how hard it is to win a Divison-I game,’ they don’t laugh at me when I say that. They respond and they actually understand how hard it is.” But the backcourt is not the only area in which the team has a new look. Forward Gilvydas Biruta transferred to Rhode Island in the offseason, rejoining his high school coach, Dan Hurley. Even though the Knights lost one forward, they gained another.
Junior forward Wally Judge transferred from Kansas State and had to sit out last season per NCAA rules. He was part of the Wildcats’ 2010 team that made it to the Elite Eight. Judge’s new team has not qualified for the NCAA Tournament in more than 20 years. “[Judge] understands what it takes to get [to the tournament],” said sophomore guard Jerome Seagears. “He knows what it is to bring it to practice every single day, and that’s what he does on a daily basis.” Judge makes his much-anticipated Rutgers debut tonight against St. Peter’s. But he is not the only forward that will play a larger role. Getting bigs more involved has become a central focus to the Rutgers offense this season. Judge and senior forward Austin Johnson have led the charge in shaping up the frontcourt. “To have two veterans who know the game and have been through the battles and been through the wars, and then to have these three younger guys … it just goes a long way,” said associate head coach David Cox. Added strength is also an asset Rice believes will go a long way this season. The team spent a great deal of time in the weight room this offseason, which Rice said will come in handy, especially during the conference season. He said the team will no longer get knocked out of driving lanes and overpowered by stronger teams. He hopes a stronger group will not all allow that to happen. Regardless of how different the team looks from last season’s group, Rice said the overall goal is no different. “I want to do the same thing I always want to do,” he said. “I want to win. Whether it’s the fifthyoungest team in the country or whether it’s next year when we have almost all upperclassmen, that never changes.” For updates on the Rutgers men’s basketball team, follow Joey Gregory on Twitter @JGregoryTargum.
2012-2013 Projected Starters
Dane Miller
Wally Judge
Kadeem Jack
Senior Forward
Junior Center
Sophomore Forward
Jerome Seagears
Eli Carter
Sophomore Guard
Sophomore Guard
Sophomore guard Jerome Seagears was one of three freshmen to rank in the top five on the team in minutes played last season, along with Myles Mack and Eli Carter. ALEX VAN DRIESEN
Rice spots change in youth BY JOEY GREGORY ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR
Mike Rice debuted his first full recruiting class as head coach of the Rutgers men’s basketball team last season. The group ranked in the nation’s top 20, which was rarified air for a Scarlet Knights recruiting class. But that did not prevent the group from receiving a reality check once it hit its Big East schedule, regarded as one of the most competitive gauntlets in college basketball. “It was a big wakeup call,” said sophomore guard Jerome Seagears. “We came in thinking it was going to be a piece of pie based off of all the hype. [There is] nothing better in life as a learning experience than actually going through something.” That learning experience taught them everything they needed to improve on to turn Rutgers into a Big East contender. It also gave them a benchmark entering the offseason. “After you’ve been through it, you know how strong other players are in the Big East, you know how conditioned other players are in the Big East,” Seagears said. “So you know what you want to be and what you need to be to compete as this level.” Last season left much to be desired. A group of players not used to losing games dropped four more than they won overall and twice as many as they won during conference play. All that did was bring out their resolve to improve. “They were in the weight room four or five times a week,” said associate head coach David Cox of the team’s offseason work. “They really bought into that. They did a lot of skill development. We focused on their weak-
nesses from last year as a team and individually.” But the sophomores’ improvement extends far beyond the physical. Seagears admits the group is much more knowledgeable about the game than it was last season, and Rice is starting to see that. “Every single day they’re getting coached better,” he said. “They’re understanding, ‘Coach isn’t yelling at me because he’s mad at me. Coach is yelling at me because I didn’t jump to the ball.’ All the things they didn’t understand, they kind of do now. They’re accepting it and they’re embracing it, to be honest with you.” While Rice sees steps in the right direction, this group of sophomores — which composes the majority of the roster — still has only one year under its belt. That may not cut it in the Big East. “We are competing at a higher level,” Cox said. “We are physically more mature. Fortunately we’re mentally more mature, a little bit more focused and understanding. Is it to the level we need it to be to win the Big East Championship? Absolutely not. But it’s developing. It’s growing tremendously.” And it needs to grow tremendously. With most of the team made up of sophomores, it remains one of the younger teams in the field. That means Rutgers’ youth has potentially the largest impact on where the team stands at the end of the season. “That is the strength and the core of this team,” Cox said. “Those are guys who are going to handle the ball the most. They have to make the most decisions. They have to make shots. They have to feed the post. They are really the core.” That core has played in 18 Big East games now, so there will be no
sneaking up on it this season, something Rice believes is invaluable. He said it has led to a more focused team to this point in the year. “They don’t wander as much in practice because they know how important the preparation par t of the season really counts,” Rice said. “They understand how hard it is to win a Division-I basketball game, let alone a game against one of our Big East opponents.” The numbers also show the impor tance of second-year players. Sophomores filled three of the top four spots on the team last season as freshmen in minutes played. The fourth is now-senior Dane Miller. That means the Knights need them to produce. “Most of our scoring came from our sophomores last year,” said sophomore guard Eli Carter, “so we have a big weight on our shoulders to keep improving and keep getting better.” Carter paced the team with 13.8 points per game, while classmate Myles Mack held the second position with 9.8 points per contest. But even with all of the testimonies from coaches and players, tonight’s season opener against St. Peter’s will truly show where the sophomores have gotten better and where they must still improve. “I wish I could [say] right now, but I would say we have to be battle-tested in games and during the season,” Seagears said. “It’s a long season. Stuff goes on and stuff happens during the season. I’d definitely say we have to be battle-tested.” For updates on the Rutgers men’s basketball team, follow Joey Gregory on Twitter @JGregoryTargum.
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Junior forward Wally Judge looks upcourt Sunday in the Knights’ exhibition win against Holy Family. Judge spent his teenage years hearing comparisons to other D.C.-area talents, like No. 2 overall NBA Draft picks Michael Beasley and Kevin Durant. But Judge has come to terms with his own career path. ALEX VAN DRIESEN
Judge finds solace on court after layoff BY TYLER BARTO SPORTS EDITOR
Wally Judge lumbers across the hardwood at the Louis Brown Athletic Center. It is late — really late. But it always is when Judge pays visits, which have grown in frequency since he joined the Rutgers men’s basketball team May 9. Maybe it is Judge’s relationship with assistant David Cox, who Judge reveres as almost family. Maybe it is his desire to sustain the glimpses that made him a 2009 McDonald’s All-American. Or maybe Judge is finally at peace. “I treated the RAC,” Judge said, “like my sanctuary.” He demanded keys to the place after less than two weeks with the program. Cox calls Judge the team’s hardest worker — “And we have some workers,” Cox said — working hours on
end even though he has not played in a basketball game in more than a year and a half. He spent time in the Louis Brown Athletic Center during the summer, when the NCAA first allowed allotted time to Division-I coaches for scheduled workouts. But arguably the most telling workout occurred when nearly no one was around. Michael Beasley grew up in Upper Marlboro, Md., a Beltway town nearly a half hour from Judge’s native Washington, D.C. They played in the same famed D.C. Assault AAU program that Cox once coached. Then Beasley committed to Kansas State as a senior at high school powerhouse Oak Hill Academy, and Judge followed suit the next year. But after two years in Manhattan, Kan., Judge found himself in Piscataway, playing one-on-one with the player to
which he drew comparisons since he was 15. “I played great defense,” Judge said of the summer outing. “He’s still an awesome talent. He’s hard to guard.” He was also hard to evade. D.C.-area basketball gurus linked their futures, along with now-Oklahoma City Thunder for ward Kevin Durant, who called Mar yland’s Seat Pleasant home. They told Judge he looked like Durant and that he should have played like Beasley with D.C. Assault. He still followed one of them — Dalonte Hill, a D.C.-connected recruiter then at Kansas State — to Manhattan, where Beasley was ready to skirt for the NBA. He was the second big man of f the bench after Jamar Samuels, the Big 12’s Sixth Man of the Year, for the Wildcats in 2009 under head coach Frank Martin.
Associate head coach David Cox, second from right, cultivated a strong relationship with Judge when Cox coached Judge’s cousin, Raymond Brewer, with a D.C. AAU team. ALEX VAN DRIESEN
But personal troubles, a reported deteriorating relationship with Martin and distance issues plagued Judge’s sophomore season. He decided to transfer. “You don’t see too many kids that big, that strong, that can run like he runs,” said Martin, now South Carolina’s head coach. “Connecting those moments, bring them closer together, that was our challenge.” It now belongs to head coach Mike Rice. Judge could play his way into elite company at Rutgers. Or he could not. Rice said Judge enjoyed the best of fseason — which for Judge spanned nearly two of fseasons —of any player he ever coached. Judge left Arlington County Day (Fla.) School the No. 18 prospect in the Class of 2009, according to Rivals.com. ESPNRise.com named him a first-team All-American. And he received an invitation to play in the Jordan Brand Classic, where he scored a team-high 18 points. But none of that matters this night in the RAC. Judge is alone. But for these few hours, he likes it. “For the first time in his life, he didn’t have to be the high school All-American,” Rice said at the team’s Oct. 24 media day. “He didn’t have to be the McDonald’s All-American. He didn’t have to be the one-anddone type of player. When he allows himself to give himself a break and doesn’t put so much pressure, he’s remarkable.” Part of the pressure came from home, where Judge’s mother, Rosemar y Yorn, needed him nearby. But Cox, equal par ts coach and confidante, helps ease it. Cox spent 10 years in education, seven as assistant principal at his alma mater, St. John’s College (D.C.) High School. He coached Judge’s cousin, Raymond Brewer, on a different Assault age group.
And he was primarily responsible for Judge’s commitment to the Knights. “One of the main things I was looking for when I was transferring was trust,” Judge said. “I needed someone to believe in, and he’s always been there for me, whether it was basketball or family.” The two stayed in contact when Judge spent two forgettable years at Kansas State. When Judge does not mind company at the RAC, he will call up Cox on an off day, and they get to work. They pore over Judge’s ballhandling, outside shooting and a newfound hook shot, courtesy of Cox’s three seasons as an assistant at Georgetown, where he once recruited Judge. “He said that’s what’s going to make me have a longer career,” Judge said, “and that’s what’s going end up making me money some day.” For now, Judge will settle for a return to the court — this time with all the lights on. He has done his time — “I’ve waited my turn, so to speak,” he said — and watched behind others. He dealt with a bust label, a byproduct of not materializing quickly enough. “As soon as somebody doesn’t perform at a level where people on the outside think they should be performing, they’re immediately cast out to be a failure,” Martin said. “With social media, kids can’t hide.” Maybe that is why Judge spent so much time alone in the RAC, weeks before a seasonopening tipoff tonight against St. Peter’s. Maybe it is his motivation to attack his game in different ways. Or maybe for the first time, Judge is comfortable. “At the end of the day,” he said, “I have to be Wally Judge.” For updates on the Rutgers men’s basketball team, follow Tyler Barto on Twitter @TBartoTargum.
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NOVEMBER 9, 2012
SEEKING
Miller regains old form following two seasons plagued by own doubts, reservations
Senior wing Dane Miller looks to pass in the Knights’ exhibition win Sunday against Holy Family. Miller admitted at Big East Media Day on Oct. 17 he lacked the confidence the last two seasons that made him a 2009-2010 Big East Rookie of the Year runner-up. ALEX VAN DRIESEN
BY TYLER BARTO SPORTS EDITOR
Brandon Triche swears he was open, but the play was Dane Miller’s to make. As a high school kid on New York’s Upstate Elite, Miller sized up a defender from a Texas AAU team, crossed him over and met what Miller estimates a 6-foot-11 center at the rim. The second defender stood little chance, and the Las Vegas crowd went crazy, Triche said. “If you watch a street ball game, a guy makes a crossover and doesn’t go anywhere but keeps on going,” said Triche, now a senior guard at Syracuse. “The last move [Miller] did really got him.” But through three seasons with the Rutgers men’s basketball team, Miller’s highlight-reel plays have come with less consistency. After a freshman campaign in which Miller, now a senior wing, finished runner-up in Big East Rookie of the Year voting, Miller’s scoring dipped to 7.9 points per game as a junior. He took only 194 shots, nearly 100 less than the year before and fifth most among returning players. Arguably the program’s most athletic player in recent history saw his role reduced to niche work, defending opposing teams’ best scorers. Miller could not help but notice. “I could play 32 minutes out of a 40-minute game and take two
shots,” he said. “People were probably thinking I wasn’t getting better or maybe it was the system.” But what became the Scarlet Knights’ most fielded question in 2011 quietly brewed inside Miller for the better part of two seasons. Head coach Mike Rice prodded him about his lack of assertiveness. The media tried to draw its own conclusions. And everyone else had an opinion. But Miller knew all along. He only never verbalized it. “It was just I had a lack of confidence in myself, where I probably thought sometimes people had a lack of confidence in me, which affected me,” Miller said. “I wouldn’t shoot the ball. I wouldn’t want to do certain stuff where I’m capable of doing it.” As Miller sat behind a table Oct. 17 at Big East Media Day, he scanned the league’s preseason allfirst and second teams, telling himself he could have easily been on each list. He did not find his name. Instead, he admitted to thinking negatively whenever he touched the ball the last two seasons. He came out about doubting himself when he thought others appeared to question him. And he cleared his conscience of each play that never was. “I was second-guessing myself on, ‘OK, should I go get this rebound? Can I get it? Can I guard this person? Should I shoot this shot?’” Miller said. “Someone
might be guarding me, and I’ll be thinking in my head, ‘OK, I know I can take him off the dribble.’” Often times he did not. Triche said Miller dreamed about being LeBron James — a talented point forward with a penchant for making smooth passes. Miller was a point guard for four seasons on Triche’s AAU team, which began as part of the Donyell Marshall Foundation, before switching over to Upstate Elite. They scoured Miller’s native Rochester, N.Y., and other talentrich areas in upstate New York, including Niagara Falls, where Miller used to play pickup games against future pros Jonny Flynn and Paul Harris at a local Boys and Girls Club. He rode the momentum to Piscataway in 2009, when Miller averaged 9.2 points and 5.9 rebounds per game as a freshman, scoring at least 15 points in six games. He did so five times during the next two seasons combined. But one of his best career games — a season-high 21 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three blocks Feb. 25 at Seton Hall — came at arguably Miller’s lowest point. As the Knights boarded a bus to Newark, Miller received a phone call telling him Saiquan Moore, Miller’s childhood best friend, had died. Moore, who grew up in the Scio neighborhood of Rochester, suffered stab wounds stemming from
a Feb. 23 altercation. Miller spoke to Moore on the phone following surgery earlier in the week and said Moore was fine. He could not make it to Moore’s funeral. Miller showed few ill effects, confounding Seton Hall on 8-for-14 shooting and avenging a Feb. 8 loss to the Pirates in which he played only 25 minutes. “During that game, I decided to change my number,” Miller said. “I sat down and talked to my mom about it, a couple of his family members about it. They told me I could go ahead and do it, show a lot of love for [Moore] and represent. I carry that number for him.” He also carries it for a tight-knit inner circle. His family, including a grandmother in a Bronx nursing home he holds in close regard, is part of it. So are a corps of players that revitalized Miller’s offseason, which left him in what Miller said is the best shape he has ever been in. And then there is John Wallace. Wallace, a Syracuse great and seven-year NBA man, knows the upstate New York basketball scene like few others. Some, like Miller, are lucky enough to seek his council. Wallace first saw Miller play on the AAU circuit in 10th grade, taking Miller to Syracuse for games and serving as a mentor ever since.
“It’s just like what Kobe was talking about with Alex Rodriguez,” said Wallace, one of the best players to come out of Rochester. “Some people forget they’re great. Dane is great, he just can’t forget that.” Wallace and Miller talk once ever y week or two. Wallace tells him taking more shots is not enough — Miller must make them. Wallace started with the message Day 1, but says he has harped on it during the last couple of months. Miller has noticed its byproducts. “At the same time, I think I became a whole better person,” he said. “Probably the last two years, I wouldn’t be looking at you in the eye. I just matured and understand having that confidence could build me up in so many places.” Outside of a 14 point-pergame mark in 1997-1998, Wallace never averaged more than 8.6 points per game in his seven NBA seasons. He insists with Miller’s 6-foot-6 frame and ball-handling ability, Miller could play professionally somewhere. But it has always been Miller’s play to make. “I’m just hoping,” Wallace said, “we don’t have to use the word potential anymore.” For updates on the Rutgers men’s basketball team, follow Tyler Barto on Twitter @TBartoTargum.
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NOVEMBER 9, 2012
STABILITY
Lee uses lost time to serve coaching role, occupy herself during injury frustrations
Senior forward Chelsey Lee returns after redshirting last year because of shoulder surgery. She led the Knights in rebounding in her sophomore and junior years. Without Lee, former point guard Khadijah Rushdan finished second on Rutgers last year in rebounding. THE DAILY TARGUM / MARCH 2011
BY JOSH BAKAN ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR
Former Rutgers women’s basketball point guard Khadijah Rushdan lay practically motionless on Georgetown’s McDonough Arena last year, outside of the tears flowing from her eyes. The Scarlet Knights’ engine departed from the game in the first half. Rutgers later found out Rushdan suffered a concussion, but the team still did not know what to say about the 54-36 loss. Rushdan joined now-senior forward Chelsey Lee, who redshir ted last year because of shoulder surgery, on the sidelines for two games. Lee was all too used to the itch to return to the court. Her high heels gave the 6foot-2 Lee a vantage point to see everything that happened, but the Georgetown loss still made her feel helpless. With all the low points and suffering in an injury-riddled Knights season, Lee had a lot to say. But during the year’s lowest points, the words could not escape her mouth. “You know you should be out there,” Lee said, “and you watch something go down in a game and not know we worked so hard for it, you lose confidence in what to say as opposed to someone being a critic and just watch-
ing them.” Now Lee can replace her heels with sneakers on game day and her vulnerability with a hunger to make up for lost time. Lee’s game day last year often consisted of helping out under the hoop during layup drills, giving a pre-game speech to head coach C. Vivian Stringer’s approval and then ser ving as a pseudo assistant coach as teams crowded thenjunior center Monique Oliver on the boards. She also viewed a year with high expectations — Rutgers ranked as high as No. 7 — dissipate into a first-round NCAA Tournament elimination, knowing she could have been what a potential program-reviving team needed. “I think the hardest part for me was knowing I would never be able to play with April [Sykes] or Khadijah again or Nikki Speed,” Lee said. Rather than being the force on the boards that led the Knights in rebounds her sophomore and junior year, Lee rehabilitated. She feels completely healthy now, but recover y was an arduous process for her that started with resuming practice last December and ended with her lifting weights unassisted for the first time since surger y a month ago. “It definitely helped that I started practicing in December
because I was like a turtle. I was so out of shape,” Lee said. “It was the worst thing.” Last year’s Knights had lofty expectations with all five starters expected to return at one point, and then Lee’s injury shifted expectations and the
“I needed to grow up and know how it feels to only count on myself.” MONIQUE OLIVER Senior Center
team’s makeup. Lee’s absence at the four meant Sykes often moving up to play there. Without Lee to gather rebounds, Rushdan finished second in the category with 5.9 boards per game after even she occasionally had to slide down to the post. Those were all factors in why that season, which could have brought Rutgers into elite national prominence — it has not made the Elite Eight since 2008 — ended with the early NCAA Tournament departure to which the team has become accustomed. “I think that [Stringer] will continue to be able to put out ver y talented, ver y successful
teams if she’s able to keep her players healthy,” said ESPN women’s basketball analyst Carolyn Peck. “I think that if she’s able to keep players healthy, you’ll see Rutgers back where back where even Stringer expects them to be.” Peck predicted that while considering the losses of Rushdan and Sykes, Rutgers is not hurting from the four and five positions. Oliver, Lee, sophomore forward Christa Evans and freshman for ward Rachel Hollivay give Rutgers four players at 6foot-2 or taller. “We’ve always been thin in the post, and especially with the loss of Chelsey Lee last year, people would just come at Monique Oliver,” Stringer said. “If you look at our size this year, we have nice size, and anytime we have that we can be as aggressive as we need to be.” Even though the 6-foot-2 Oliver was often the biggest Knight on the court last year, she was also the most vulnerable. The Knights could expect an opponent’s game plan to consist of crowding around Oliver as Lee could only watch. Every time Lee saw a missed board she could have had, she took in personally. “When you get in the game, you’re so in the midst of it that you forget what you just talked
about on the sidelines,” Lee said. “So it was frustrating to see everything I just told Mo, ‘Make sure you get this rebound,’ goes out the window.” When the season tips of f Sunday at Georgia, Rutgers will have not only a stronger Lee but also a stronger Oliver. Lee and Oliver were partners separated last year, which taught Oliver, who led Rutgers last year with 7.3 rebounds per game, how to often be the lone post presence. “I was actually sad [at first] because I lost my partner, but I grew last year and I was happy,” Oliver said. “It was actually a blessing because I needed to grow up and know how it feels to only count on myself and for that to happen, I’m really thankful for that.” Lee’s return to game action furthers the blessing as Rutgers looks to improve under Lee and Oliver off its plus-1.9 rebounds per game margin from last year. Lee is no longer helpless, and her control of the team’s destiny with Oliver gives Stringer reason to think this team is different from recent ones. “Mo’s not going to be denied. Chelsey’s not going to be denied,” Stringer said. For updates on the Rutgers women’s basketball team, follow Josh Bakan on Twitter @JBakanTargum.
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Sophomore guard Briyona Canty played both guard positions in her freshman season. She was successful on the boards and defensively like Khadijah Rushdan, a former point guard, with 3.4 boards per game and 31 steals, but she struggled on the shooting end. ENRICO CABREDO, SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Stringer leaves point guard spot open BY AARON FARRAR CORRESPONDENT
Rutgers head women’s basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer watched Khadijah Rushdan, the point guard she developed during five seasons, get selected by the Los Angeles Sparks on April 16 in the second round of the WNBA draft. Rushdan, who played in 135 games for the Hall of Fame coach — the most in program history — was gone and left the team to wonder who would be her successor. Stringer spent the offseason mixing and matching her options to find the best fit for the position. Although the point guard of the future has yet to be named, the likely candidates for the spot are senior Erica Wheeler and sophomores Briyona Canty and Shakena Richardson. The Scarlet Knights knew it was a main focus during the summer and are ready to compete during the 2012-2013 season, no matter who inherits the job. “The backcourt is going to be very important because we’re so stacked on [the] post,” Wheeler said. “So it’s important that the guards come correct and be on top of it. I mean, we’re not perfect. We’re going to make mistakes. But we just have to be consistent. That’s the main thing.” Wheeler showed consistency on the floor last year, appearing in all 32 contests and earning 23 star ts. She mostly played alongside Rushdan at shooting guard, but had moments as the orchestrator. The Miami native can draw defenders thanks to her ability to penetrate openings in the defense and knock down contested shots from behind the arc. She drained
39 3-pointers last season and led the Knights with 52 steals. Wheeler is content with whatever role is assigned to her. She plans to be a vocal veteran to the Knights and “just be a leader.” “If you think about it, at some point I became a leader last year,” Wheeler said. “There were some times I talked up and sometimes I didn’t. But it’s mainly just communicating more and just helping the freshmen and sophomores out and just being positive.” Stringer said her decision is a tough one because all three players can play interchangeable positions. Each player is versatile, so she has been experimenting with the three Knights at either the point or the wing. “As a rule, we want multi-talented athletes,” Stringer said. “It really does help tremendously when you have a point guard mentality. So right now I haven’t decided on who it will be because no one has distinguished themselves just yet. But it’s OK because of the lack of positions.” Richardson and Canty have a year under their belts and hope to be ready to take the reins if called upon. Richardson spent the last few months improving her game and adding to her repertoire. “Basically, I’ve been working on my shot,” Richardson said of her offseason. “I’ve been trying to get everything better to improve [my] game. I’ve been grinding, trying to work on defense and anything to make a contribution to the team.” The Neptune, N.J., native saw valuable minutes in the backcourt throughout the year, even in highpressure moments, including the Knights’ matchup against Gonzaga in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Senior Erica Wheeler mostly played shooting guard last year, but head coach C. Vivian Stringer said she will play some point guard this season. NOAH WHITTENBURG, PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR Richardson averaged 2.1 points and 1.2 assists in her rookie season. She, along with Canty, hopes to play integral roles on a team that is high on the backcourt’s production. Canty shared similar season numbers with her classmate. She averaged 2.9 points and 3.4 rebounds per game, seeing much of her time at shooting guard. Canty showed commitment to the defensive end, leading all freshmen with 31 steals.
The Knights expect to have an impressive year and go farther in the postseason. Canty believes one main responsibility the backcourt must adopt is to simply “dominate.” “We just need to go out there and do what we do — play aggressive defense, get to it and just run the floor,” Canty said. Rutgers is prepared to move past the Rushdan era and work toward the same goal to bring home a national title. The mystery as to who is the floor gener-
al for the 2012-2013 campaign may be solved Sunday, when the Knights tip off the year at Georgia in Athens. Stringer’s message to her players is to be prepared for whatever is thrown at them throughout the year. There may be opponents that challenge the Knights physically and mentally. “She’s just been telling us to be ready,” Canty said. “We have to lean on each other and make sure that we have each other’s backs. Nothing will stand in our way.”
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Graduations force shifts in mindset BY JOSH BAKAN ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR
Head coach C. Vivian Stringer brings in a recruiting class that ranks third in the nation, which consists of two guards and a pair of forwards. NOAH WHITTENBURG, PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Freshmen fill position holes BY AARON FARRAR CORRESPONDENT
For the second consecutive year, the Rutgers women’s basketball team recruited a class that ranked third in the nation. It brought in a top-five ranked group for the third time in the past five seasons. The Scarlet Knights welcome four freshmen to a program that has produced 16 WNBA players, including guards Cappie Pondexter and Essence Carson and forward Kia Vaughn of the New York Liberty, as well as 2012 draftees Khadijah Rushdan and April Sykes, taken by the Los Angeles Sparks. For wards Ariel Butts and Rachel Hollivay and guards Kahleah Copper and Precious Person elected to play for Hall of Fame head coach C. Vivian Stringer, the winningest active coach in Division-I women’s basketball. Stringer enters her 18th season at the helm and is excited about this year’s recruiting class. Each player brings size and depth to an already deep squad. “They’re fresh, talented and excited,” Stringer said of the newcomers. “I’m excited because I see how they work. I don’t think anyone’s going to outwork us.” The Scarlet Knights hoped to make the new players’ transition to college basketball as smooth as possible. To develop chemistr y on the court with the new arrivals, the players spent hours together off the court,
bonding and becoming acquainted with each other so it would translate to the hardwood when the time came. “I’ve watched them a lot this summer,” Stringer said. “They’ve spent an awful lot of time going to amusement parks and cooking dinner for each other. The team is really a family. They demonstrated that, so I’m really excited.” Hollivay, the nation’s No. 2 post player and ninth-rated player in the countr y, headlines the
“I really want to follow in Monique [Oliver’s] and [Chelsey Lee’s] footsteps.” ARIEL BUTTS Freshman Forward
class. The Columbus, Miss., native brings more depth to a big frontcourt. She was a five-star prospect out of high school, averaging 25 points, 11 boards and 10 blocks per game in her junior season at Heritage (Miss.) Academy. Hollivay and Butts have a host of veteran for wards they can learn from in their rookie campaigns. Senior center Monique Oliver and senior for ward Chelsey Lee, who returns from sitting out the 2011-2012 season because of shoulder surger y, hope to be a dual threat. “I really want to follow in Monique and Chelsey’s foot-
steps,” Butts said. “I want to go hard, just as hard as they go. I expect this to be a learning year. Then when my time comes, I just want to go out there and do what I have to do.” Hailing from Columbus, Ga., Butts averaged 22 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks per game in her senior season at Carver (Ga.) High School. Butts’ career numbers led to her cracking ESPNU’s Top-100 list, claiming the 75th overall spot and the ninth-best player in the paint. Not only did the Knights add more players down low, but they expanded their backcourt with two new faces. Copper, a 2012 McDonald’s All-American, can bring some help to the wing to spread out the floor. She took Player of the Year honors at Prep Charter in Philadelphia, recording 24 points, 12 boards and two assists per game in her final season. Person was ranked No. 70 overall by ESPNU HoopGurlz and was a 2012 All-American nominee. She led the Lady Titans of Charles Drew (Ga.) High School to a state playoff berth last year. “We bring a lot of heart,” Person said of what the class contributes. “We work hard [and show] determination.” The new additions are ready to make an immediate impact and do whatever they can to contribute night in and night out for the Knights. They get their first oppor tunity to do so in Sunday’s season opener at Georgia in Athens.
After Erica Wheeler played the uncharacteristic role of a leader in the quarterfinals of last year’s Big East Tournament against Connecticut, the media wanted to hear her perspective. But she skipped the press conference, instead to tend to her dehydration after playing all 40 minutes and leading the Rutgers women’s basketball team with 13 points in its lowoffense affair. Wheeler had raised her intensity level even more with that performance and lending a team-leading 28 points in the NCAA Tournament against Gonzaga in 37 minutes. She also had her hands full defensively with a high-scoring Bulldogs backcourt. But Wheeler, who averaged 8.6 points per game last year, said those performances will no longer be uncharacteristic. “Just mainly wanting to win, and [Gonzaga and UConn are] the top [teams], so when you play a top team you want to go at it as hard as you can and try to win,” Wheeler said of what inspired her. “That’s my mentality, just wanting to win so badly.” But Wheeler ended up sacrificing her health for two games that eliminated Rutgers from tournaments. The Knights were not set up for any deep tournament runs last year, mostly because of a lack of depth in the frontcourt and no consistent outside shooting to amend it. Rutgers’ first problem is a thing of the past with the return of senior forward Chelsey Lee from shoulder surgery and the addition of 6-foot-4 freshman forward Rachel Hollivay. Now Wheeler has the unenviable task of leading Rutgers’ shooting stroke’s return to form a year after it finished 11th in the Big East in 3-point percentage last year with .286. The graduation of for ward April Sykes, who sunk a team-leading 40 3-pointers last year, makes it even more difficult. Wheeler leads an even less enviable task of remedying the
loss of former point guard Khadijah Rushdan — now with Sykes on the Los Angeles Sparks — which involves replacing 13.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. “We’ll be playing Erica quite a bit at point even though we know that Erica is probably the best outside shooter on the team,” said head coach C. Vivian Stringer. “It’s just our style. We have not found Khadijah.” Rushdan leaves a void of veteran leadership to a team with only four upperclassmen, and Wheeler is not the only one who changed her attitude for it. Senior center Monique Oliver was always quiet-spoken and still is, Stringer said, but Oliver assumed leadership this year that Stringer never saw from her. Oliver displayed that in one practice drill where certain players had to face the male managers. If their performance was not satisfactory, the team would run three 55-second suicides instead of one. The Las Vegas native was the first Knight to show initiative in selecting who would play, which impressed Stringer. “In every sense of the word, she’s a true leader,” Stringer said. “She recognizes what time it is. It’s time to get it done.” Oliver was battle-tested in a year without Lee, which involved Sykes often playing the four and then-freshman forward Christa Evans entering the game and having difficulty with foul trouble — she had 31 more personal fouls than field goals last year. With Lee, Hollivay and a more-developed Evans, Oliver said the rotation encourages her. With the new vibe of several Knights and new frontcourt depth, that means opponents also have to shift their game plan. “Before it was just me and Mo [in 2010-2011]. We had to watch our fouls,” Lee said. “There are so many of us now that we don’t have to hold back playing.” For updates on the Rutgers women’s basketball team, follow Josh Bakan on Twitter @JBakanTargum.
2012-2013 Projected Starters
Betnijah Laney
Monique Oliver
Chelsey Lee
Sophomore Forward
Senior Center
Senior Forward
Briyona Canty
Erica Wheeler
Sophomore Guard
Senior Guard
FORWARD
THINKING