FRIEND-WHIP

Ex-HS mates promise lively rivalry matchup

Off the court, Mike Williams and Khadeen Carrington remain close, frequently sending text messages to each other and speaking on the phone. In the summer, they will work out together at Bishop Loughlin, their old high school.

But on Friday night, Williams and Carrington will be enemies, former teammates from Brooklyn on opposite sides of the Rutgers-Seton Hall rivalry.

“I don’t have friends on the court, just me and my teammates,” said Carrington, Seton Hall’s star junior guard, averaging a team-high 19.2 points per game.

In their two years facing each other, Seton Hall has dominated the rivalry, winning the previous two contests by an average of 28 points. Carrington laughed when asked if he felt sympathy for his former high school team- mate. Williams wouldn’t want any. When they got together this summer, Williams guaranteed this year would be different. “He said he’s going to guard me this year,” the 6foot-3 Carrington said. “He said they’re much better this year. They’re coming stronger at us. I let him do the talking. I just talk facts.”

Williams contemplated transferring after last year’s seven-win season under former coach Eddie Jordan, but those thoughts changed when Steve Pikiell was hired. The new coach’s vision impressed Williams, and so did the coaches who joined him, experienced assistants like Karl Hobbs and Brandin Knight.

“The staff he brought in, I saw myself getting better,” the 6-foot-2 Williams said.

Indeed, everything has changed in Piscataway for Williams, averaging 11.8 points and 4.2 rebounds as the Scarlet Knights’ sixth man. Rutgers is off to its best start since the 1975-76 season, winning 11 of its first 12 games, and is looking to snap a three-game losing streak to Seton Hall (9-2), the best team in the area.

“We have something to prove this whole season,” Williams said. “Everybody still thinks it’s the same Rutgers team.”

The two haven’t talked this week, and they likely won’t exchange pleasantries before the opening tip Friday night. It’s all business. After the game, however, there will be a long embrace. They remain close friends on opposite sides of the Garden State rivalry.

Their success makes Friday night even more special.

“There’s definitely a sense of pride,” Carrington said.

“We always pushed each other when we were in high school, and we work hard [together] in the summer,” Williams said. “Our friendship is very strong. We always want the best for each other.

“Except,” he added, “for [Friday] night.”

Seton Hall dismissed Myles Carter from the team for undisclosed reasons.

Coach Kevin Willard said Thursday that playing for Seton Hall is a “privilege that comes with responsibilities, and unfortunately Myles was unable to meet those standards.”

Carter had played 32 minutes in nine games this season. He played in 10 games as freshman.