 Ruth Ellen Riley | |
| Position | Center |
|---|---|
| Height | 6 ft 5 in (1. The center, colloquially the five, is one of the standard positions in a regulation Basketball game 96 m) |
| Weight | 198 pounds (89. 8 kg) |
| Nationality | USA |
| Born | August 28, 1979 Ransom, Kansas, U.S. |
| College | Notre Dame |
| Draft | 1st round, 2001 Miami Sol |
| Pro career | 2001 – present |
| Former teams | Miami Sol Detroit Shock San Antonio Silver Stars |
| Awards | *Named Most Valuable Player of the 2003 WNBA Finals
|
Ruth Ellen Riley (born August 28, 1979) is an American professional basketball player (a center) in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the National Women's Basketball League (NWBL). Events 475 - The Roman General Orestes forces western Roman Emperor Julius Nepos to flee his Capital Year 1979 ( MCMLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1979 Gregorian calendar) The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Basketball is a team Sport in which two teams of five active players each try to score points against one another by propelling a ball through a 10 feet (3 m The center, colloquially the five, is one of the standard positions in a regulation Basketball game The National Women's Basketball League or NWBL was an organization governing basketball leagues for women in the United States. Her Notre Dame team won the NCAA women's championship in 2001, and her Detroit Shock team won the WNBA championship in 2003 and 2006. The University of Notre Dame du Lac (or simply Notre Dame) (ˌnoʊtɚˈdeɪm is a private Roman Catholic Research university located in The NCAA Women's Division I Championship is an annual Basketball tournament for women Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. The Detroit Shock is a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA team based in Detroit Michigan. The WNBA Finals is the championship series of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA held in early September and played under a Best-of-five playoff Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Riley was the Most Valuable Player in the 2001 and 2003 championship series, becoming the first person to win the MVP awards in both the NCAA and the WNBA championships. She has also played on teams that won the NWBL championship and the gold medal at the Olympic Games. Gold Medal is an Album by American band The Donnas, released in 2004 (see 2004 in music) The Olympic Games is an international Multi-sport event established for both summer and winter games
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Early years
Riley was born in Ransom, Kansas and grew up in Macy, Indiana. Ransom is a city in Ness County, Kansas, United States. The population was 338 at the 2000 census. Macy is a town in Allen Township, Miami County, Indiana, United States. She has always been unusually tall, measuring 25 inches (63. 5 cm) at birth, and six feet (1. 83 m) by the time she was 12 years old. In high school she was on the basketball, volleyball and track teams. High school is the name used in some parts of the world (in particular Scotland, North America and Australia) to describe an institution Volleyball is an Olympic team sport in which two teams of 6 active players (5 normal players and one 'libero' are separated by a net that is usually four feet It was in high school that she began her practice of wearing a headband while playing.
College years
In her freshman year at Notre Dame, Riley played in all 32 of the team's games, starting in the final 26. The University of Notre Dame du Lac (or simply Notre Dame) (ˌnoʊtɚˈdeɪm is a private Roman Catholic Research university located in Thereafter she was the starting center in all but one of Notre Dame's games. She was a mainstay of the team in all four years, and consistently ranked high in the nation among women basketball players in field goal percentage and blocked shots. In Basketball, the term field goal is a basket scored on any shot or tap other than a Free throw, worth two or three points depending on the distance of the attempt In both her junior and senior years she was an Associated Press First Team All-American selection. The Associated Press ( AP) is an American News agency. The AP is a Cooperative owned by its contributing Newspapers radio As a senior, she won the Naismith Award and was the Associated Press Player of the Year. The Naismith College Player of the Year award named for Basketball inventor James Naismith, is given annually by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to College In addition, she was the 2000-01 Verizon Academic All-America Team Member of the Year. "Verizon" redirects here this article is about the corporation see also Verizon Wireless, Verizon Online DSL and Verizon FiOS.
The highlight of her college career came in the 2001 NCAA tournament. In the championship game, Notre Dame was trailing Purdue, 66-64, when Riley scored the tying field goal. Then, with 5. 8 seconds left and the score still tied, Riley drew a foul. She made both free throws to give Notre Dame its final 68-66 edge and its first women's national championship. Main article Basketball moves In Basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points from a restricted [1] Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw, when asked about the critical play on which Riley was fouled, said, "it's the same play we've been running all season. Muffet McGraw is the current head women's basketball coach at Notre Dame. It's called: 'Get the ball to Ruth. '" [2] Riley was the Most Outstanding Player of that year's Final Four. The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single elimination Tournament held each spring featuring 65 College basketball teams in the
Riley graduated from Notre Dame in 2001 with a degree in psychology, having made the Dean's List every semester. Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. Psychology (from Greek grc ψῡχή psȳkhē, "breath life soul" and grc -λογία -logia) is an Academic and A Dean's List is a category of students in a College or University who achieve high grades during their stay in an Academic term or Academic year She finished her Notre Dame career with 2,072 points, and school records for rebounds (1,007), blocked shots (370), and field goal percentage (. Rebound is a term used in Sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put 632).
Professional career
WNBA
On April 20, 2001, Riley was selected by the Miami Sol as the fifth overall pick in the 2001 WNBA Draft. Events 1303 - The University of Rome La Sapienza is instituted by Pope Boniface VIII. Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. The Miami Sol was a women's Basketball team which joined the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA in 2000. 2001 WNBA Draft - 20 April 2001 On April 20 2001 the regular WNBA draft took place She came off the bench for the first 12 games. On July 1, she made her first professional start, on the road against the Los Angeles Sparks, and started for the rest of the season. "July 1st" redirects here For the Ayumi Hamasaki song see H (song. The Los Angeles Sparks are a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA team based in Los Angeles California.
Her second season (2002) was a difficult one. After playing well in the preseason, she broke a finger the day before the regular season started. She could not play for the Sol's first several games – the first time in her career she had missed a game because of an injury. She returned, playing with a splint on her hand, but lost her starting spot. During the WNBA's off-season, she played in Valencia, Spain. Valencia ( Valencian: València, Valencia Spanish phonology --> is the capital of the Spanish autonomous Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
After Riley's second season with the Sol, that franchise folded. On April 25, 2003 the WNBA held a special one-round dispersal draft, in which the remaining WNBA teams could select players from the Sol and from the Portland Fire, which had also folded. Events 1607 - Eighty Years' War: The Dutch fleet destroys the anchored Spanish fleet at Gibraltar. A dispersal draft is a process in professional sports for assigning players to a new team when their current team goes out of business consolidates with another team or for some other The Portland Fire joined the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA in 2000 as the counterpart to the NBA team the Portland Trail Blazers The Detroit Shock, by virtue of having the worst regular-season record in the WNBA in 2002, received the first pick in the dispersal draft, and used it to select Riley. [3]
In Riley's first season with the Shock (2003), she was a key member of the team. She bettered each of her previous WNBA season totals in points, rebounds, blocked shots, and assists. The Shock, in a notable turnaround, went from a 2002 season with the worst record in the league (9-23) to a 2003 season with the best record (25-9) and a victory in the WNBA Championship. In the finals, the Shock defeated the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Sparks to win Detroit's first WNBA title. Riley was named the MVP of the WNBA finals. The WNBA Finals is the championship series of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA held in early September and played under a Best-of-five playoff
Riley continued to play for the Shock in the 2004, 2005, and 2006 seasons. In 2005 she was selected for the Eastern Conference team in the WNBA All-Star Game. In 2006, she was the starting center when the Shock won its second WNBA championship, defeating the Sacramento Monarchs. The Sacramento Monarchs is a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA team based in Sacramento California.
In February 2007, she was traded to the San Antonio Silver Stars in exchange for Katie Feenstra. February 2007 is the second month of the year It began on a Thursday and 28 days later ended on a Wednesday. The San Antonio Silver Stars are a team in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA based in San Antonio Texas. Katharen Ruth Feenstra (born November 17, 1982 in Grand Rapids Michigan, U The Shock also received the right to exchange first-round draft picks with the Silver Stars in 2008. [4]
NWBL
The WNBA off-season is when the National Women's Basketball League operates. It provides a showcase for players hoping to make a WNBA team, and also attracts established WNBA players. In the fall of 2003, Riley joined the Colorado Chill of the NWBL. The Colorado Chill were a professional Women's basketball team playing in the National Women's Basketball League ( NWBL) from 2004-2006 On April 1, 2005, in her second season, the Chill won the NWBL championship. Events 527 - Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne
In Riley's third season with the Chill, she broke her thumb in a preseason workout and missed the team's first 14 games. She returned to action on March 21, 2006. Events 630 - Byzantine emperor Heraclius restores the True Cross to Jerusalem. [5] She played in the last four regular-season games, all of which the Chill won to finish tied for the regular-season championship. [6] In the playoffs, the Chill won both its games to repeat as NWBL champions. [7] Riley was named as the playoff MVP. [8]
Spanish League
After the WNBA's 2005 season, Riley played for Yaya Maria Porta XI in the 2005-06 season of the Spanish League.
Polish League
Riley played the 2006-07 European season for Lotos Gdynia in the Polish League. Lotos PKO BP Gdynia is a Polish women Basketball team based in Gdynia, playing in PLKK. PLKK (Polska Liga Koszykówki Kobiet is an organization leading Polish women Basketball league which is generally also named PLKK This club was long the European home for fellow WNBA player Margo Dydek, and also at one time featured another American WNBA star in Katie Smith. Małgorzata Dydek (born on 28 April 1974 in Poznań, Poland) known as Margo Dydek in the United States, is a Polish international Katherine May “Katie” Smith (born June 4, 1974 in Lancaster Ohio) is a professional Basketball player for the Detroit Shock
International competition
While in college, Riley played on the U. S. team in the 1999 World University Games in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. The Universiade is an International Multi-sport event, organized for University athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU Palma is the major City and port on the island of Majorca and capital city of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. The team won the silver medal. A Silver medal is a Medal awarded to the second place finisher of contests (typically athletics competitions such as the Olympic Games,
In 2002 she practiced with the USA Women's Senior National Team, but did not make the final cut to play in the Basketball World Championship. The FIBA World Championship is a world Basketball tournament for men's national teams held quadrennially by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA
In 2004 she again practiced with the USA Women's Senior National Team and played in several of its games. She was selected for the 2004 U. S. Women's Olympic Team. The Olympic Games is an international Multi-sport event established for both summer and winter games In Olympic play, the team was undefeated and won the gold medal. Basketball at the 2004 Summer Olympics took place at the indoor arena in the Helliniko Olympic Complex in Athens, Greece for the preliminary Gold Medal is an Album by American band The Donnas, released in 2004 (see 2004 in music)
Other activities
Riley wrote a children's book, The Spirit of Basketball, with co-author Paul Hickey and illustrator Christopher Hiller, that was published in 2005. Children's literature is an age category of literature written for published for or marketed to Children roughly through age 12 According to Riley, the message of the book was "that basketball is the same no matter where you live or what language you speak. " [9]
On January 26, 2005, Riley made her debut as a color commentator for a Notre Dame women's basketball game. Events 1340 - King Edward III of England is declared King of France.
As of 2005, Riley is the vice president of the WNBA Player's Union. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
Each summer she participates in the Ruth Riley Basketball Camp, which offers two days of instruction in basketball skills for students at the levels of kindergarten through 11th grade. ( German, literally means "children's garden" is a form of education for young children which serves as a transition from home to the commencement of more formal schooling
Personal
Riley's height is variously listed as 6' 4" and 6' 5". She herself has said that she is "six-foot-four and a half to be exact" (1. 94 m). [10]
Because Riley played in Miami, she is sometimes asked if she is related to Pat Riley, the coach of the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association. Patrick James Riley (born March 20 1945 is a former American National Basketball Association head coach and current team president of the Miami Heat. The Miami Heat (often referred to simply as the Heat, including in some official team publications with HEAT in all capital letters are a professional Basketball As far as she knows, she is not.
While playing for the Sol, Riley bought a condominium in South Beach, Florida, and still considers that her home. A condominium, or condo, is a form of Housing tenure and other Real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate (usually of an apartment South Beach is a Census-designated place (CDP on Orchid Island in Indian River County, Florida, United States.
Vital statistics
- Position: Center
- Height: 6 ft 4½ in (1. Basketball is a team Sport in which two teams of five active players each try to score points against one another by propelling a ball through a 10 feet (3 m 94 m)
- College: Notre Dame
- Team(s): Miami Sol, Detroit Shock, San Antonio Silver Stars
External links
- Riley's website
- Riley's biography - on WNBA website
- Riley's biography - on NWBL website
- Riley's biography - on USA Basketball website
- Riley's biography - on usolympicteam. The University of Notre Dame du Lac (or simply Notre Dame) (ˌnoʊtɚˈdeɪm is a private Roman Catholic Research university located in The Miami Sol was a women's Basketball team which joined the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA in 2000. The Detroit Shock is a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA team based in Detroit Michigan. The San Antonio Silver Stars are a team in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA based in San Antonio Texas. com
- Riley's blog - on WNBA website
- Riley profile for Lotos Gdynia (Polish)
- "Life of Riley Is Overflowing with Dreams Fulfilled" - profile in The Detroit News
- Press release on her trade to the San Antonio Silver Stars
| Preceded by Tamika Catchings | Naismith College Player of the Year (women's) 2001 | Succeeded by Sue Bird |
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