Elena Delle Donne Returns To Basketball

Elena Delle Donne was on the fast track to basketball stardom as the 2008 Naismith national high school basketball player of the year and one of the most highly sought girls’ prep players in the country. She had a full ride to UCONN and would have won an NCAA Championship with the Huskies had she not left school and returned to Delaware to play volleyball instead.

Gino Auriemma didn’t know what to make of the situation and concluded that Delle Donne was making the biggest mistake of her life.

In the end, it wasn’t basketball burnout that caused Delle Donne to give up the game. It was “homesickness.”

That’s why she’s returning to basketball next season, but not for UCONN. She’ll play for the Blue Hens instead.

“I am extremely excited to be competing in my home state and for Coach [Tina] Martin,” Delle Donne said in a statement released by the university. “I really enjoyed playing volleyball this past fall but found myself missing basketball. Basketball has been an important part of my life and I realized that it is my first love and my passion.”

Delle Donne said watching the Huskies storm to a 39-0 season and the national championship last season made her realize she really did miss the game. Or maybe she regretted her decision. Either way, what was UCONN’s loss is now Delaware’s gain.

But Auriemma harbors no  ill will (at least not publicly). “I wish her the best, now and in the future,” he said.

Here’s a video clip from ESPN’s Outside the Lines on Delle Donne:

Video:Youtube