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Previously accustomed to having parents and volunteers as coaches, girls at Moshe Aaron Yeshiva High School, South River, returned this fall to learn basketball from a member of one of the college game's perennial contenders.

Khadijah Rushdan, a 5-foot-9 redshirt sophomore guard at Rutgers, will try to impart MAYHS players with the wisdom of legendary Scarlet Knights' coach C. Vivian Stringer, who recently reached the pinnacle of her sport with induction to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.

"She's so detailed and so passionate about basketball, and she breaks everything down to the point where any one of her players can be coaches," Rushdan said of Stringer. "I feel like [coaching at MAYHS] is an opportunity for me to try to get back and teach other young ladies what I've learned."

MAYHS alums Brian Jungreis and Zack Goldman, now both Rutgers students, worked to bring Rushdan to the yeshiva in South River. Jungreis took a labor relations course with Rushdan.

Jungreis is currently a hockey coach at MAYHS, while Goldman teaches gym class and coaches soccer. Both exemplify the school's ability to use alumni as valuable resources.

"Most of our alumni want to give back to the yeshiva," said Rabbi Avraham Krawiec, dean of students.

Krawiec said he is eager to see Rushdan teach MAYHS players the values of commitment, teamwork, and responsibility in addition to skills on the court.

"Someone of that stature, who's lived it, can probably get the message across very well," Krawiec said of Rushdan.

Stringer has more than 800 career wins and was the first coach to lead three different schools to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament, including Rutgers' 2007 appearance in the national championship game. MAYHS' basketball history isn't quite as illustrious, as one player spoke of the girl's team trying to end its 11-year losing streak.

School officials said the streak probably isn't 11 years long, but was still significant. Regardless, it's a culture of losing that Rushdan was brought here to change.

"I told them today that we are going to have fun but the losing stops now, we are going to win," Rushdan said. "I'm not sure how many games, but we are going to try to change that around and make sure they are learning and having fun at the same time."

After appearing in eight games as a freshman in 2007-08 and making three starts, Rushdan suffered a season-ending knee injury and received a medical redshirt. In 2008-09, Rushdan's first full season for the Scarlet Knights, she started 22 games while finishing second on the team in assists (2.4 per game), third in rebounding (4.4 per game), and fourth in scoring (7.0 points per game).

Rushdan has worked at various basketball camps for Rutgers, but this is her first official coaching gig.

"Hopefully I can get them to really appreciate the sport and appreciate the game," Rushdan said of her new players.

"They just need to work on fundamental stuff," she added. "They seem to have a good passion for [basketball] and they are really fun to be around."

Those players, meanwhile, are already noticing a difference in the team's attitude.

"It feels professional," Shifra Shaulova, a senior from East Brunswick, said.