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Posted on Wed Nov. 18 2009
Delle Donne happily shakes off the rust
By Mike Jensen
Inquirer Staff Writer
LORETTO Pa. - She was back playing the sport she was meant to play.
Elena Delle Donne admitted that later and also admitted she was nervous just before her long-awaited collegiate hoops debut for Delaware. During the national anthem as all other players stood motionless the former national high school player of the year kept bending her knees ready to spring.
The Delaware Blue Hens won their season opener last night over St. Francis (Pa.) 77-64. The more pertinent facts: Delle Donne's outside shot looked rusty. Her court vision? Exquisite. Her next turnover will be her first.
Basically other than her shots not falling Delle Donne looked the way she used to look playing for Ursuline Academy at high schools all over the Philadelphia area. Not forcing anything. Not demanding the ball. Showing purpose when she got it. Putting in a lot of effort but making it all look effortless.
"Probably the worst thing was being so tired at certain times" Delle Donne said after scoring 19 points in 39 minutes making 5 of 14 shots and adding five assists. "I was breathing a little hard."
Playing different positions for different situations the 6-foot-5 redshirt freshman made her first three-pointer a catch-and-shoot up top but never hit another outside jumper missing a number of them off the dribble. Her father spoke about that afterward Delle Donne said.
"He was actually talking to me about my shot and how I can work on it - I guess my index finger was off" Delle Donne said. "He's always been my shooting coach."
Get this out of the way: Delle Donne never was and never will be the next LeBron James. In high school she sometimes was hyped as the female LeBron.
More like the female Dirk Nowitzki.
That's a huge compliment by the way. A version of Nowitzki's NBA and international career would be an awfully nice WNBA career for Delle Donne down the line.
As it happened Delle Donne mentioned Nowitzki after the game as a comparison she'd heard herself. She also said "I want to make my own route."
"She orchestrated everything – it's very important that she gets touches because she reads everything so well" Delaware coach Tina Martin said.
Her basic story line - trading in the big time for staying home - is familiar to at least the hoops fans of Delaware and Connecticut. Delle Donne went to UConn for less than 48 hours returned home enrolled at Delaware and played for the Blue Hens' volleyball team last season.
How would last night's performance translate to top-ranked UConn? That question is both difficult and moot. It's possible that none of her own scoring plays would have gotten her baskets last night against a top-10 opponent. A 5-9 guard and a 5-11 forward took their turns guarding Delle Donne. But her all-around offensive game her perpetual poise would have enhanced any game.
"Elena's Elena - no matter what school she plays for" said St. Francis guard Sarah Thorn a sophomore from Yardley and a former Delle Donne AAU teammate who scored 12 points.
This was not the big time. Above the scoreboard at the Maurice Stokes Center are advertisements for a Burger King one town away and Ollie's Bargain Outlet - Good Stuff Cheap. Everybody seemed pleased with the crowd of 914.
For the record Delle Donne's first touch was a blocked shot. Her first offensive touch at the top of the key earned a foul call on St. Francis and a yell from a Red Flash fan: "Don't baby her!" Her first shot came after she grabbed an offensive rebound with one hand dribbled toward the middle and hit an effortless six-footer with 17 minutes 20 seconds remaining in the half.
Defensively Delle Donne isn't a stopper. She never takes a play off but doesn't have the foot speed to dominate. St. Francis wasn't the easiest opponent for her. It played four out a lot and Delle Donne's early assignment 5-11 forward Allison Daly from Harrisburg showed she would hit three-pointers if Delle Donne cheated off her.
Delle Donne's highlights weren't showstopping just pleasing to any hoops purist. One time she came off a curl ran into a double team that was about to be a triple team and in an instant hit a cutting teammate for a layup. Down the stretch she began handling the ball more taking it upcourt.
Her former Ursuline teammate Kelley Doogan a freshman reserve at St. Francis may have had the most relevant comment of the night.
"She looked like she was enjoying herself" Doogan said.
 
Contact staff writer Mike Jensen
at 215-854-4489 or mjensen@phillynews.com.
 

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