PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- If you go by the literature of the game, point guards are supposed to be generals on the floor, commanders of a basketball battlefield as they bark out orders, direct teammates into position to attack and keep order in retreat.
They lead from the back -- or in their case, the backcourt.
Khadijah Rushdan tries; she really does. But perhaps channeling the likes of William Wallace or George Patton, Rutgers' point guard seems to operate under the philosophy that the best way to lead is to get there first and leave only when the job is done. What more often than not transpires as a result is a big reason why, as the smoke (and in some cases, mirrors) clears on the nonconference season, Rutgers once again occupies advantageous territory in the Big East standings.
There isn't a more exciting player in the country who averages 6.5 points per game.
"Khadijah's the all-around player," teammate Brittany Ray said of the redshirt sophomore with whom she shares de facto leadership of the team on the court. "People really don't know how effective Khadijah is."
Coming off a 75-64 win against Marquette on Saturday, the Scarlet Knights are 4-1 in conference play, a mark that includes a road win at Pittsburgh and only one game against an opponent, Cincinnati, likely to finish out of the postseason conversation, at the very least.
Tuesday night's trip to Hartford to face Connecticut is the game Rutgers would love to get but probably won't. Whether what exists between the two programs is a rivalry is up for debate -- Connecticut leads the all-time series 24-6, although it's just 8-5 against Rutgers over the last five years. It seems at least safe to describe the not-quite border battle as renewably surly.
But Saturday's game was the one the Scarlet Knights had to have. And the one that thanks in no small measure to Rushdan, they got.
Only after she found herself on the front line of potential calamity, of course.
With just more than eight minutes left against Marquette, and seconds after picking up the assist on a basket that put Rutgers ahead 53-52, Rushdan was whistled for her fourth foul. After watching from the bench thereafter, she reentered the game during a time out with 3:28 to play and her team still up a point -- and promptly turned over the ball on the restart to gift a layup to the Golden Eagles, one of only two turnovers she committed in 32 minutes.
Not a problem. Over the final 203 seconds, Rushdan outscored Marquette 10-2 on her own and added four rebounds in the same span.
"When she picked up that fourth foul over there, I was so mad at her," Ray said after the game, eyes opening wide in mock consternation at the memory. "I was so mad -- I was over there screaming at her because we need her on the court. She's our point guard. She can do everything. The girl can get assists, she can rebound, she jumps out the gym. I don't know if people really notice that -- Khadijah can jump with anybody. And she can score.
"She just has a pass-first mentality all the time, so sometime she strays away from shooting and trying to score because she's trying to get everybody else involved and distribute the ball to everybody else."
Not unlike her predecessor, Essence Carson, Ray is the quiet presence on a team still loaded with youth, despite the high-profile exits since the start of last season. Ray is also the go-to player on offense, the only player averaging more than seven points per game.
But Rushdan is equally the pulse, emotions always unadorned and undisguised, from her intense scowl on the court to the self-effacing embarrassed smirk that broke through as she recounted the potentially costly turnover against Marquette.
Sharing a backcourt with sophomore Nikki Speed and freshman Erica Wheeler, her future might be as a combo guard. But whatever position she plays, you get the feeling any team she's on will end up following her lead.
"She's the one that also keeps me calm," Ray said. "Like when I'm a little bit frustrated, Khadijah comes up to me and she's like, 'Come on B-Ray, we need you. We need you out there; you got to make sure you knock down some shots for us and make sure you just keep your head in the game.' So she's also a calming factor for me and for the rest of the team."
They'll need her Tuesday. Then again, they need her every game.
