It's no secret that we're huge CAA Basketball fans. We also have been known to be fond of women. When one of the best female basketball players in the country happens to do her hooping for a CAA team, it's hard for us to ignore for too long.When we last heard from Elena Delle Donne, she was shocking the collegiate hoops world by leaving Geno Auriemma's UCONN program before she played a single game and transferring to Delaware to play volleyball. The all-everything high school basketball star was widely considered the country's best recruit, with a dazzling combination of size and skill. Delle Donne was voted Naismith, Gatorade, and McDonald's national player of the year in 2007-08 after leading Ursinus High School to four straight Delaware state titles. She was a latter-day Larry Bird, except that she did the Hick from French Lick one better, not only moving down a level in competition, but changing sports altogether.
“I committed to UConn hoping the passion would come back,” Delle Donne said in an interview with USA Basketball. “I got there and realized I needed to be home. Something was wrong. I didn’t love the sport anymore.” Delle Donne's close-knit family lives just 20 minutes from Delaware's campus, so she left the relatively bright lights of Storrs, CT for Newark, DE.
After a successful freshman volleyball season with the Blue Hens, where she was named to the All-CAA team, Delle Donne felt her passion for basketball rekindled. Despite offers from numerous NCAA powers, she chose to resume her hoops career where she felt comfortable.
All she's done since then is average over 27 points per game, win CAA Player of the Year awards and All-America nods, lead the USA to a World University Games gold medal, scoring 15.7 points and grabbing 8.5 rebounds per game, and completely upend the CAA's natural order. She's dropping a nation's-best 29.3 points per game in 2011-12 for the 14-1 Blue Hens, whose only loss came at an undefeated Maryland team. Though her 6'5" frame casts her as a post player, she's hitting 48% of her three-point attempts and 93.3% of her free throws. She's a badass.
“It’s like I’m a 10-year-old playing AAU basketball again,” she said with a smile. “I’ve got the love for the game.” That sounds just a little big Gheorghey, no?
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59 comments:
danimal, you betting against the Tribe tonight?
just looked...they are getting 20. that's a shit-ton of points. vcu will have their scrubs in with 5+ min left.
in other news - the influx of former U.F. footballers continues. ron zook, "the zookie monster" as i call him, has been interviwed for the special teams coaching job here for the jags. looks like mediocrtity will continue to be the standard here in north florida.
After just viewing an interesting and definitely disturbing youtube video trailer of the film "missrepresentation" (go watch if you want to know more), reading this is refreshing...here's a woman wielding her power on the court, and likely to do well off the court whatever she does, with confidence and success like that! Thanks Rob for the post.
rob just gained us another female follower, it appears.
i just deducted that shlara is a friend of someone i went to h.s. w/pre-winchester.
Mark loooooves Ron Zook.
Speaking of Mark, when is the kid coming, BadNewsDad?
You're a regular Sherlock Holmes, danimal.
i need to do a better job of proofing, speaking of mediocrity
Speaking of deducted, is shlara an accountant?
I do love me some Zook. For comedy's sake alone. It's much funnier when he's not coaching your Alma Mater.
Kid is scheduled to arrive next Friday morning. C-section appt is set for 7:30 am.
Donna = Igor
i think my steal percentage last night playing hoops was better than my shooting percentage. i was three for a million shooting, but i had four or five steals-- although i don't actually know the denominator.
that chick is 6'5"? i definitely would have hit on her in college.
"What hump?"
And it's pronounced Eye-Gor, Jerry.
In my 5'9" experience, 6'5" women are best left alone.
reach for the stars, z - you never know where you'll wind up.
On a conference all with a large gov't contracting firm, many people on the call. Speaker just said, "I think [Air Force official] may have pulled that out of his . . . uh . . . anal orifice."
Isn't saying "anal orifice" in a professional setting way, way worse than saying "ass"????
And I do know Donna! Though not as well as our tiny dictator does . . .
Donna, you are tasked with recruiting all of our freshman hall to be G:TB readers. Of course, if we can't even get Hightower and Clare to read it, we're not doing very well thus far.
Easy there Igor...watch what you say! As for recruiting...I'll leave that to y'all.
I will admit that I read this G:tb more often that I think I'm comfortable with...but hey, it's part of how I take myself less seriously.
Do I know shlara? Loved your post, Shlara, last year, but I'm uncertain of identity.
i hazard a guess that donna is g:tb's only reader in the professor of divinity business. we shouldn't tell her employer.
(and donna, i'm happy to delete this comment if you're not comfortable with it)
i think donna is from winchester.
am not an nba'r at all. what i know is what i glean here at GTB. wilbon was on SVP show this afternoon....they were talking about the wiz. paraphrasing here but the takeaway from the conversation, from wilbon was: "it's so bad it's worth talking about." will start paying more attention to their awfulness.
Oh good lord rob...you do not need to delete...I happily acknowledge my past...um...what's the word...some of it was pretty fun as I recall. Some stupid too, but I think that makes us all part of the same club. And in theological terms, as John Calvin was known to say, totally depraved is the boat every one of us finds ourselves in...another reason we shouldn't' take ourselves so seriously. Of course plenty of theo types would disagree, but I don't think Calvin is one of them.
Never thought Theology would be a topic of conversation here.
And Igor, now trips to Boston are easy. Just jump on the train.
http://goo.gl/1tdff
This might be a the ultimate way to booze it up on the swing down to OBFT.
Tribe on pace to score 35 tonight. Sweet.
This game already sucks. Ugh.
vcu can't believe this game is still close
beasthoven having a brutal first half
Tribe have more turnovers (8) than field goals attempts (7)
In Marcus we trust.
Miracle that the Tribe is only down eight at the half.
Tribe hanging in there to start second half, only down 4.
Adrian Branch is butchering this broadcast is a magical way.
Tribe only down 42-40, under 10 minutes to play.
We are tied at 45. Oh my.
Tribe down 52-50, can't quite get over the hump and take the lead. 4 minutes to play.
Tribe up 53-52!!!
Tribe up 58-56...1:15 to play.
Branch is outstanding...he's having a hard time getting "William and Mary" out cleanly. I'm sure he's thinking to himself, "Damn, couldn't a brutha get a Drake-Duke matchup?!"
60-59 Tribe, 36.7 seconds left.
Tied at 60, Tribe is going to get a last shot to win this...
Strong drive by Marcus to the rim...might've been fouled...
We going Overtime
Good lord you've gotta finish that....Tribe has almost no chance in overtime.
He was fouled. That was their shot. They will get run in OT.
have faith, marls
Marcus looks unstoppable off the dribbble.
Tribe up 66-63.
I might have a coronary.
That's a fucking awful way to lose.
Great game by the tribe. Awful final shot.
fuuuuuuuuck
ball punch of a loss, but you saw a team do some growing up there.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
Danimal--who is our mutual friend?
Ms.lareau
Ooh -- I like her, too.
So here's the latest jinx. I should have been following GTB and watching W&M on the tube, but I wasn't. I was out socializing at a local "bar" with "people" . . . sorry. Anyway, as I get home, Rob texts me "I hope you're watching the tribe." I immediately turn it on to see William & Mary up 1. Excitement! Right then they miss two free throws, give up a bucket on the other end, then misfire a last second shot and lose. That was . . . disappointing.
Thanks, Rob.
i'm going to try to get pastor rob, one of the thursday night regulars, to start reading gheorghe . . . i think we may have a whole new deomographic to write for.
Dios Mio!
New post up.
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