| Elena Delle Donne | |
|---|---|
| College | University of Delaware |
| Conference | Colonial Athletic Association |
| Sport | Basketball, Volleyball |
| Position | Guard/forward, middle hitter |
| Jersey # | 11, 6 |
| Class | Sophomore |
| Height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
| Born | September 5, 1989 |
| High school | Ursuline Academy |
Elena Delle Donne (born September 5, 1989) is an American college basketball and volleyball player at the University of Delaware.
Delle Donne was a high school basketball player at Ursuline Academy in Wilmington, Delaware. She led Ursuline to three straight Delaware State Championship titles and was ranked as the number-one overall high school recruit by Scout.com.[1] She was the first and only student at Ursuline so far to score 2,000+ points during her high school career. Delle Donne is 6'5" and set the girls' high school national record for consecutive free throws made (80) in 2005–2006.[2]
Following her senior season in high school (2007–2008), Delle Donne received a basketball scholarship from the University of Connecticut. On August 16, 2008, Delle Donne announced she would not accept the scholarship due to burnout, and instead decided to enroll at the University of Delaware and join their volleyball team as a walk-on.[3]
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Delle Donne was named a WBCA All-American.[4] She participated in the 2007 WBCA High School All-America Game, where she scored 17 points,[5] and earned MVP honors for the Red team.[6]
Delle Donne won the volleyball DIAA state championship with Ursuline in 2007. She posted a season high 20 kills against Padua during a game involving the number one and two teams in the state. In college, she played middle hitter at UD for the 2008–2009 season.[7] The 2008 Delaware Blue Hens finished their season with a record of 19–16. They were 9–5 in their conference (Colonial Athletic Association) and won the Conference tournament. They earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament, but lost to Oregon in the first round.[8] Delle Donne did not continue on the volleyball team in 2009, but joined the basketball team.
Following an outstanding prep career during which she became the most highly-touted women's basketball recruit since Candace Parker, Delle Donne received a basketball scholarship from the University of Connecticut. However, in early June 2008 Delle Donne abruptly dropped out of Connecticut's summer school program after just two days in Storrs. Delle Donne was very close to her family, especially her sister Lizzy, who suffers from cerebral palsy, and is blind and deaf. She wasn't ready to be separated from her family.[9]
A week after leaving Connecticut, Delle Donne said by telephone from her home in Wilmington that she has "a lot of personal issues to fix. Only my family understands what's going on. Right now I am going to take a long personal break."[10] She took a similar break prior to the 2007-08 season in high school.[11]
On June 2, 2009 Delle Donne announced that she would play basketball for the Blue Hens in the 2009-10 season as a redshirt freshman.
Delle Donne had a very productive freshman season. She averaged 26.7 points per game, the third-highest of all Division I women's basketball players.[12] She scored 54 points against James Madison on February 18, 2010, which was the highest single-game point total by any Division I female basketball player that season.[13] She was named the CAA Rookie of the Week six times, and the player of the week once during 2009-10.[14]
She was voted the CAA's "Player of the Year" and "Rookie of the Year" in women's basketball by CAA coaches, sports information directors and media. This was the first time a player had won both awards in one year since Old Dominion's Lucienne Berthieu did so in 1999. No men's player has ever won both awards in the same season.[15]
In her sophomore season, the team started off well, but then Delle Donne began to develop flu-like symptoms. In a game against Penn State, she asked to be taken out of the game, something she had never done before. After many tests, the doctors finally diagnosed her with Lyme's disease. She struggled the rest of the season, but she helped her team reach the finals of the conference tournament and an invitation to the Women's NIT.[9]
Elena was selected to the 2011 USA Basketball Team for the World University Games played August 12–23 in Shenzhen, China. Delle Donne led the team to a Gold Medal with a perfect 6-0 record and averages of 15.7 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists. In the Championship game won by the USA 101-66 over Taiwan, Elena scored 18 points on 8-14 shooting and led the team with 11 rebounds and 8 assists.
Her parents are Ernie, a real estate developer, and Joanie. Her older brother Gene is currently a tight end at Middle Tennessee State University after transferring from Duke University. Her older sister Elizabeth (Lizzie) is blind and deaf and suffers from autism and cerebral palsy.[18]