Elena Delle Donne Walks Away From Basketball

Imagine if you were the top basketball recruit in the country. Imagine if everyone in the media kept referring to you as the next Lebron James. Imagine playing college basketball at the University of Connecticut under the reputable Geno Auriemma. Imagine that your future as a perennial women’s basketball star was bright, and that playing in the Olympic games and the WNBA was a forgone conclusion.

Now, imagine giving all that up.

That’s what Elena Delle Donne did. She walked away from basketball, only she walked away with her head held high.

I found the story of Delle Donne so intriguing because it exposed the other side of the spotlight. Delle Donne worked hard to become the player she is today, but it came as a price. At the tender age of 7, she was assigned a personal trainer. At age 13, she began to despise the game she once loved.

After being offered a full scholarship at UConn, Delle Donne realized that maybe she wasn’t as passionate about basketball as everyone else thought she was. This past summer, Delle Donne did some soul-searching and, in the end, turned down the scholarship and the chance to play for the Huskies.

Coach Auriemma can’t understand how Delle Donne could just walk away from basketball. I can. Basketball was shoved down her throat at such an early age that she probably never had a chance to just love it for what it was — a game.

Now, Delle Donne is a member of the University of Delaware’s volleyball team. And, because she is playing the sport for the right reason, she finally understands what it means to “love the game.”

For more on this incredible story, visit ESPN’s Outside The Lines.

Photo provided by Newscom