When Darryl Watkins and Marquis Webb left Paterson Catholic (N.J.) for the Big East, they kept one lesson in mind.

‘My high school coach says that defense wins championships,’ Webb said. ‘I just took that with me to college.’

The two defensive-minded players and best friends since grade school will meet for the first time as starters when Syracuse hosts Rutgers Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Three years ago, many insiders believed Watkins would join his high school teammate Webb and stay in-state at Rutgers. Webb committed before his junior year at Paterson Catholic began, but Watkins waited until the end of the recruitment process to announce he would play against his best friend instead of with him by pledging to Syracuse.

‘I know Darryl still had a lot of interest in Rutgers,’ Scarlet Knights head coach Gary Waters said. ‘He was very disappointed because they were together for eight years and they really hated to be divided.’

Watkins hated it so much that when he enrolled at Passaic Tech High School for his freshman year instead of following Webb to Paterson Catholic, Watkins struggled academically and athletically without his boyhood buddy. His mother soon transferred him to Paterson.

Watkins and Webb led Paterson to a 22-5 record during their senior year. Watkins was a first-team all-state selection and Webb a consensus all-state player.

Webb was Waters’ first New Jersey signing after taking over the program and was part of a junior class in Piscataway that, like Syracuse, had a large effect on this season’s rosters. Although Webb has been a starter at Rutgers since day one, Watkins entered a program with extreme front court depth and finally cracked the Orange starting lineup this year.

‘Unfortunately, he didn’t come to Rutgers,’ Webb said. ‘I definitely believe he’s happy though, that’s something he’s taken advantage of.

‘Everyone just assumed he was going to come to Rutgers, but he never said he would.’

When the two schools met last season, Watkins appeared for just eight minutes off the bench, playing for the first time in almost a month. Webb took a mere four shots and scored two points in 35 minutes.

‘We always give each other advice,’ Watkins said. ‘Whenever one of us is in a slump, we tell each other to keep your head up and just play hard.’

Despite playing under the shadow of the Big East’s leading scorer Quincy Douby, Webb is beginning to receive some accolades for his defensive prowess. He was named the Big East’s top defensive player in Athlon’s Preseason Magazine and is the biggest reason why Rutgers ranks fifth in the Big East in points allowed per game.

‘In my estimation, Marquis is the best defensive player in the Big East,’ Waters said. ‘He’s the most disciplined player I’ve seen, like a quarterback in football he reads reports and watches tapes every day.’

The knock on Webb has always been that he has no natural position; at 205 pounds, he’s too big for a guard and too small for a forward at 6 feet, 5 inches. In his first two seasons at Rutgers, Webb started as a guard. With the emergence of freshman Anthony Farmer at the point, Webb was moved back to small forward where he is more comfortable.

‘It’s an opportunity for me to take more shots and play free,’ Webb said. ‘Defensively, I always lay it out there on the line.’

Rutgers has been searching for a second scoring option to complement Douby all season long. Webb is averaging 9.2 points per game, two points better than last season, but still lacks the consistency that Waters desires. Unbelievably, Webb is the second-leading scorer for the Knights, while Douby is the only player averaging double-figures in points.

In Gary Waters’ perfect world, Webb would have less pressure on him to be the primary option to Douby and would have more freedom as a defensive presence.

Webb typically defends the opponent’s best scoring threat, a 35-minute battle that has forced him to hit the weight room habitually in order to physically prepare himself for the nightly challenge.

Waters quickly ran off his list of Webb’s impressive defensive performances, saying the most outstanding game came in a Rutgers victory over Providence last year. Webb held Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American forward Ryan Gomes to 6-of-18 shooting for 14 points, seven below his season average.

This year, Waters ranks Webb’s effort against DePaul guard Sammy Mejia as his best. He held Mejia only to 11 points as Rutgers beat DePaul 68-58 in overtime on Jan. 15, the first road Big East win for the Knights in two years.

Webb will likely match up against another junior, Syracuse forward Demetris Nichols, a leading scorer along with Gerry McNamera for the Orange.

Facing yet another tough assignment, Webb is looking forward to this game a little more than usual, especially with Watkins on the floor.

‘That’s my buddy out there,’ Webb said. ‘It’ll be good to see him. I want to go out there and compete for some bragging rights back home.’

Published on January 30, 2006 at 12:00 pm