 "Photo: Andy Bowden")
Before the start of last season, Elena Delle Donne shocked the women’s basketball community.
The 2008 Naismith, McDonald’s, and Gatorade National High School Basketball Player of the Year from Ursuline Academy received national attention when she passed up a full basketball scholarship with powerhouse Connecticut to come back to her home state of Delaware, citing lack of passion for the game.
Now Delle Donne will take the court for the first time in her college career as Delaware faces St. Francis in Loretto, Pa.
“I am extremely antsy for the first game to begin,” she said. “As a team we have been working extremely hard and are ready to get out on the court to put our hard work into action.”
Delle Donne has already had a tremendous effect on the women's basketball program without even playing a competitive game. She scored 50 points in a closed scrimmage vs. St. Joseph’s on Nov. 9 and ticket sales for the Hens are at an all time high.
She has been featured on such programs as ESPN’s Outside the Lines and had a feature in last week’s issue of Sports Illustrated. Delaware received a vote for the Preseason Top 25 for the first time in history, and Delle Donne was named to the 2009 CAA Preseason Second Team. She looks forward to meeting these expectations though she knows it will be a challenge.
“Collegiate basketball is definitely another level from high school basketball,"Delle Donne said. “I love the challenge that this new level of play brings to me.”
When she first came to Delaware, it was doubtful if she would ever suit up for the Hens basketball team. She left Connecticut mainly because she was homesick and missed her family, especially her sister Lizzie who has cerebral palsy, but also because basketball just was not fun for her anymore, she said.
She chose to play volleyball for Delaware instead, a game she played for only a year in high school. She was named to the All-CAA Rookie Team and played a key role for the squad as they reached the NCAA Tournament.
Delle Donne credited volleyball with helping her relearn how to have fun with sports. It also kept her sharp and in shape so coming back to basketball was not too difficult, which she also credits her new teammates for.
“The team was so welcoming and skill wise I was able to have the entire summer to get some of the kinks out of my game,” she said. “I have already learned so much from my coaches. They have taught me to see the mates."
Head coach Tina Martin said she did not even try to "recruit" Delle Donne when she was on campus. She even told her coaches not to talk to Delle Donne.
"She had been recruited enough," Martin told ESPN. "Honestly, I just wanted her to be happy at Delaware whether she ever stepped foot on the basketball court or not."
When Delle Donne finally informed Martin that she wanted to play basketball again Martin was excited because of the extra dynamic Delle Donne brought to the team.
"She's 6-5 so her size really helps us," Martin said. "She's going to help us from the standpoint of having somebody that can score from inside and out."
Delle Donne said her goal for this season is for the the team to improve each and every game. The Hens should certainly benefit from her play and drastically improve their .500 record from last season. She felt the hardest part of coming back was being 100 percent sure that this is exactly what she wants to do.
"This took a lot of time for me to figure out," she said" "I am now positive that this is where I want to be and where I belong.”
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