UConn women's basketball

One year after leaving UConn with a feeling of burnout, star basketball player Elena Delle Donne has rediscovered her passion for the game. She will play basketball at Delaware next season, the school officially announced today.
Delle Donne, who played volleyball at Delaware last fall, will have four years of eligibility remaining.
“I have decided to begin playing basketball for the University of Delaware,’’ Delle Donne said. “I am looking forward to playing again and joining my new teammates this upcoming season. I am extremely excited to be competing in my home state and for Coach (Tina) Martin.
“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, a 6-foot-5 guard who was the National High School Player of the Year in 2008, was supposed to be the lynch pin of UConn’s freshman class this past season. Instead, she bolted from Storrs during the early hours of June 3 after spending just two days on campus.
The Huskies did not miss her contribution. They won their sixth national championship and finished 39-0. They also became the first team to win every game by at least 10 points.
Delle Donne now joins a Delaware program that returns its top 10 scorers from last season’s 15-15 team.
“We are thrilled that Elena will be playing basketball at the University of Delaware,” Martin said. “Elena is versatile and has the ability to play multiple positions. She will have an immediate impact on our program with the skills, competitiveness, and athleticism she brings to the team.’’
Delle Donne said last August that she “over-killed’’ the sport and that maybe some time away from the game would help her regain her fire. This was seemingly the perfect elixir.
UConn awarded Delle Donne a complete release from her scholarship last Aug. 20. She then opted to enroll at Delaware, which is only a short ride from her home in Wilmington.
Delle Donne set a Delaware state high school basketball record – male or female – by scoring 2,818 points during her five-year career at Ursuline Academy. She led the Raiders to four state championships and was named the 2008 Naismith and the WBCA Player of the Year.

Rich

Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis is not in any rush to put an end to the recruiting process. Not even close. There are too many coaches at too many colleges who want to see her play for them in the future. She will take her time in deciding, quickly putting to rest the rumors that she had recently given an oral commitment to play at UConn.
Mosqueda-Lewis is just trying to be a normal 15 year old sophomore at Mater Dei High in California. She just also happens to be a 6-foot guard from Anaheim who is regarded as the top player in the Class of 2011.
She is well spoken and grounded. And after talking to her today she seems to have a firm grip on how she wants to handle all of the hype and the entire recruiting process over the next several months of her life.
“I’m just trying to be a kid still,’’ Mosqueda-Lewis said. “It’s nice to have people come (to see me), but I’m still just a kid and having fun with teammates and playing basketball. So I’m not really paying attention to it that much.’’
Mosqueda-Lewis said she was unfazed by the recent rumors. She did take the time to inform the necessary individuals that her options were still open. At this point “everybody’’ is on her list.
UConn coach Geno Auriemma saw Mosqueda-Lewis play most recently at the Boo Williams Nike Invitational in Virginia last month. She made an unofficial visit to UConn in mid-January. And she said that she could make another unofficial visit to Storrs at some point this summer.
“I don’t think I’m going to be making my decision until my senior year probably,’’ Mosqueda-Lewis said. “I don’t want to make the wrong decision before I think about it. I want to keep everything open and make sure I see what every college has to offer. It feels great to have options. It feels great to have a lot of places that want you and I feel very privileged to have that option for me to be able to choose from so many different schools.’’
Mosqueda-Lewis averaged roughly 22 points, six rebounds and 3.4 assists this season in leading Mater Dei High to a 32-1 record. She was named a first team All American by Parade Magazine and was the Gatorade California State Player of the Year.
Mosqueda-Lewis was named to the inaugural 12-member USA Basketball Women’s U-16 National Team Sunday.
“Kaleena is a spectacular scorer, a true shooting guard,’’ Mater Dei coach Kevin Kiernan said. “Kaleena is a great student and a wonderful kid who fits in very well here at Mater Dei High.’’
Kiernan also said that Mosqueda-Lewis is high on UConn.
“I know they are at the top of her very short list,’’ Kiernan said. “I think UConn would be a great fit for Kaleena. She is not afraid to be coached and can handle the intensity of a major college program.’’
It has long been a goal of Mosqueda-Lewis’ to play for Team USA. She hopes to ultimately play in the Olympics.
The U-16 team will compete in the eight-team 2009 FIBA Americas U-16 Championship for Women at a site and date still to be determined. Fellow UConn recruit Betnijah Laney, a 6-foot forward from Clayton, Del., was also named to the team.
“I’m receiving a huge opportunity to be able to play on the first U-16 developmental team for the USA,’’ Mosqueda-Lewis said. “I’m just trying to take it all in and take advantage of everything. Being able to represent the U.S. is the highest possible thing you can represent. It’s my country and I’ve never represented something that’s this big and has to do with so many people. So it’s a big opportunity for me.’’

Rich

For the last four seasons the Big East had featured UConn and Rutgers as its marquee matchup. And it more than lived up to its billing with the Huskies winning six of the 10 meetings.
But the conference has decided to go in another direction in the 2009-10 season. UConn will now play Notre Dame in a home and home series, the conference announced today. Rutgers will meet Syracuse twice.
It will be the first time that the Huskies and the Scarlet Knights have not met twice in the regular season since the 2002-03 season. The Big East began its planned home and home series in 2005-06 when the conference expanded to 16 teams.
“Changes help maintain the competitive nature from top to bottom within the Big East,’’ Big East Director of Communications Rachel Margolis said. “With Connecticut coming off of its sixth national title and the strong outlook for Notre Dame next season, it was the logical choice to pair the two teams as repeat opponents.”
The Big East elected to keep the Cincinnati/Louisville, Pittsburgh/West Virginia, Providence/Villanova and the St. John’s/Seton Hall matchups intact. DePaul will now face Marquette, who had been paired with Notre Dame, twice and Georgetown will face South Florida twice.
UConn will also host conference opponents Cincinnati, Georgetown, Providence, Rutgers, St. John’s, South Florida and West Virginia. It will travel to DePaul, Louisville, Marquette, Pittsburgh, Seton Hall, Syracuse and Villanova.

Rich