Shock fans may be wondering what starting center Ruth Riley has been up to this winter. What activities has she been doing to remain active, you ask? Well, Riley has been pulling double-duty this past month fine tuning her already successful professional basketball career and also developing a new career in commentating. This former WNBA Finals MVP is used to working overtime, but this off-season she is playing with the NWBL’s Colorado Chill as well as commentating for a few Notre Dame Women’s basketball games. It seems there is no slowing down for Ruth during this WNBA break.

Ruth Riley is well known by fans, players, and coaches alike for her arduous training regiments and work habits. And it appears that this season will be no different. Riley has been playing year-round hoops since the end of the Detroit Shock season by also competing in the National Women’s Basketball League (NWBL) for the Colorado Chill. Riley’s hardworking lifestyle has gone internationally as well, as Riley helped the United States Women’s Basketball team bring home the Olympic gold medal this past August.

This off-season Riley and the Colorado Chill are off to a great start in the NWBL with a record of 7-1. Ruth has been a dominating presence on the court thus far averaging just more than 30 minutes and 15 points per game. She is currently first in the league in blocks (4.3), second in the league in rebounds (9.6) and free throw percentage (90.5%) and fourth in the league in field goal percentage (51.2%). In addition, Riley has netted double-figures in all eight of her games this season. Such authority on the floor has led the Chill into first place of seven teams in the NWBL.

“This [the NWBL] is a great opportunity for me to play in the States during the WNBA off-season,” Ruth explains, “work on my game, and do a little commentating on the side.”

Yes, besides NCAA Champion, WNBA Champion and Olympic gold medalist, Riley has recently added Color Analyst to her resume. Her basketball career has been going into overtime during the past few weeks as she has taken on an active role commentating for the Notre Dame Women’s Basketball program. The January 26th Notre Dame game against St. John’s marked Ruth’s premier game as a color analyst. As a Notre Dame alum, Riley is no stranger to the Fighting Irish women’s program. She earned top honors as the recipient of the Naismith Award and Associated Press Player of the Year while leading Notre Dame to the 2001 NCAA Championship her senior year.

“Commentating has been great,” Riley stated, “I look forward to possibly doing more games in the future.” Indeed, Riley’s commentating career will continue as she has a few more games scheduled, including the February 12th game against Georgetown and the February 26th game against West Virginia. Both will be aired on Comcast out of Chicago.

Detroit Shock center Ruth Riley is used to working hard. Maintaining her basketball skills and developing a new career path is nothing that she can’t handle. Fans can rest assured that they will be seeing and hearing a lot from Riley this winter.