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October 22, 2000

Foul mood drives Riley toward improvement

By ERIC HANSEN

Irish center Ruth Riley (top) still plans to get physical this season, but hopes to stay out of foul trouble (ISR Photo JOE RAYMOND)

If it never plays out just the way Ruth Riley wants it to, if the Notre Dame center is remembered for her chronic foul trouble as much as her adidas headbands, she will look back and remember all the good things anyway.

She'll remember how she got to graduate with her older sister Rachel, a fifth-year senior at Notre Dame whose shrieks were a part of every home game Ruth played in an Irish uniform.

She'll remember the summer before her senior year, playing one-on-one against her 18-year-old brother Jacob, who at 6-foot-3, still must look up to his big sister but made her tougher just the same.

She'll remember how N.D. assistant Carol Owens built on all the wonderful coaching Riley had up until coming to college. She'll remember her teammates and head coach Muffet McGraw. She'll remember the avalanche of honors.

But there will always be a void, a gnawing, aching feeling that she missed something.

"This team is capable of going to the Final Four," Riley said of an Irish squad that will start its season somewhere in the top 10. "All we have to do is finish strong and play up to our capabilities. And that includes me."

Riley knows that the Irish won't have a chance to get there if she's spending roughly half of every game on the bench, which has been a recurring pattern her entire collegiate career.

Last season, Riley averaged a mere 24.7 minutes of playing time per game, raising her career average to 23.7. It's little wonder. She is averaging one foul every 7.1 minutes for her career and has fouled out of 18 games -- two fewer than all of her teammates combined.

"It's really frustrating, because every year you focus on certain things, and obviously that's mine," Riley said. "When I come out on the court, it really doesn't matter what my other goals are. I haven't been able to eliminate (foul trouble) from my game."

The Irish have tried man-to-man defense. They've tried zone. They've begged and preached.

"Ruth's problem is she is very competitive, and she doesn't want to get beat," McGraw said. "It's a mentality she does not want to let go of. It would be nice if she was like some of our guards: 'Yeah, go ahead and get by me.' I mean, it's only two points. We can take it. We need her on the floor."

McGraw's latest defensive wrinkle is having the Irish guards double down on opposing post players. That means giving up more perimeter shots, but McGraw feels the tradeoff is worth it if the N.D. players can grasp the concept.

"Anything that would help appeals to me," Riley said.

Riley said her knowledge of the Big East referees and how they call games should help. But will it be enough?

"I think Ruth has become kind of a marked person," said Owens, who works with the Irish post players. "Once you get a reputation for being foul-prone, it's hard to shake.

"I think the referees see it and look for it. And it becomes part of the gameplan for other teams -- go right at her and get her in foul trouble."

Added McGraw, "I think the big guy never gets the breaks in basketball. People look out and see her and think, 'She's so big, it's so unfair.' It would be nice for the referees to let her play a little more, but she needs to get smarter and make better decisions."

The irony in all of it is that Riley is one of the premier defensive players in the country. She was named Big East Defensive Player of the Year each of the past two seasons. Her 257 career blocked shots are 116 more than the No. 2 player in the Irish record books, Katryna Gaither, Riley's predecessor at center.

Riley is also one of the nation's more complete players. She's always near the top of the national rankings in field-goal percentage. She's also an 80 percent free-throw shooter and on pace to finish at the top of the Irish career list in both free throws made and attempted.

And this season she has added more perimeter shooting to her offensive game.

"I might even let her shoot 3-pointers," McGraw said. "She can make them. She's just a unique player. I've been looking for another one like her, but I haven't found one."

It was tough for McGraw to recruit even a reasonable facsimile of Riley with the Macy, Ind., product, 6-4 Meaghan Leahy and 6-2 Kelley Siemon all on the roster and all in the same class. And if the Irish don't find a standout post player down the stretch of this recruiting season, they'll play a faster, more-free-wheeling style next season with 6-3 sophomore defensive specialist Amanda Barksdale and 6-2 recruit Katy Flecky playing pseudo-center.

The Irish are involved with two top 50-caliber post players -- 6-3 Teresa Borton of Yakima, Wash., and 6-4 Hazel Joseph of Midwest City, Okla. One of them, and 5-10 Lori Moore of Harbor City, Calif. -- the nation's top prospect under 6 feet -- could join a five-member class of wings and shooters that is considered by some analysts as the nation's top class already.

"I'm excited about our future," said McGraw, who is prohibited by NCAA rules from mentioning recruits individually until they sign next month.

She is even more excited about the present -- about what Riley may become if McGraw could just get Riley beyond the foul trouble.

"I think I'm doing a lot of the right things," Riley said. "I watch video from the (Pete Newell's) big man camp. I didn't take the summer off, even though I didn't play on an international team, for once.

"So is this the year I finally stay out of foul trouble? I don't know. But I'll work harder than I've ever worked and play with more passion than I've ever played.

"And we'll see what happens."