Now he’s in trouble

Former Eastern Washington University men’s basketball player Derek Risper is finishing up work on his degree in Cheney, and, one would hope, harboring no expectations of landing a job with the Spokane Chamber of Commerce.

Not after his sister Jennifer, a junior forward for Vanderbilt University, ratted him out on Friday during a press conference held in conjunction with tonight’s Sweet 16 doubleheader of the NCAA tournament that will play out at the Arena.

Jennifer Risper, who – like her older brother – resides in Moreno Valley, Calif., was asked if she had been to the Spokane area before and, if not, what her brother might have told about it.

“Well, no, I’ve never been to Washington,” she said. “(Derek) really told me that there’s not much to do out here.”

Risper’s comments drew a roar of laughter from those present in the interview room.

“But I don’t really do much anyway, except go to the movies and go bowling with Tina,” she added, nodding toward teammate Christina Wirth, who was seated beside her on the podium. “I came here for basketball, you know, and the mall.

“That will be fun, but that’s it.”

Underdog region

Brenda Frese, the coach of No. 1-seeded Maryland, was asked if she could identify a common thread that runs between the four teams competing in the Spokane Region of the tournament in hopes of advancing to the women’s Final Four in Tampa Bay, Fla. (April 6-8).

After pausing for a moment, she settled on her feeling that all four teams in the Spokane Region – Maryland, Pittsburgh, Stanford and Vanderbilt – are a tad bit underappreciated.

“I’m not sure the critics out there (know) who they really feel like deserves to advance,” Frese said. “I think we’re all kind of underdogs, I guess.”

Official word

Vanderbilt coach Melanie Balcomb, whose Commodores play in the ultraphysical Southeastern Conference, is well aware that tonight’s opponent, Maryland, gets to the free-throw line early and often in most of its games. But she claims she is not concerned about how closely the officials might call tonight’s matchup.

“That’s something I try not to focus on at all, because I don’t have any control of that,” Balcomb said. … “We’re in a new region with different officials, and that might determine how they officiate it. But the key is adjusting to those officials in the first couple of minutes of play,” she said.

Jersey to Jersey

We’re not talking uniforms here. We’re talking about the home state of Pittsburgh coach Agnus Berenato and Vanderbilt counterpart Melanie Balcomb. Commodores assistant coach Lisa Cermignano was a standout player at Glouchester (N.J.) Catholic High, Berenato’s alma mater.

“We love it,” Berenato said. “There’s a play out, ‘Jersey Boys,’ everyone keeps telling me about that. Forget that. It’s Jersey Girls. Melanie’s a terrific coach. I really admire her. And Lisa, she’s from my hometown, it’s really a blue-collar town and she was a blue-collar kid.”