Delle Donne Regains Passion For Basketball; Puts Family First

Elena Delle Donne was one of the top high school girls basketball recruits in the country last year. The Wilmington, DE native had planned to go to UCONN to help the Lady Huskies continue to win championships.

However, the sport that had given Delle Donne so much failed to make her happy. She turned down Connecticut and decided to quit basketball all together. She believed she was burned out, but in reality, she just wanted to be closer to home and to her family. She especially wanted to be with her older sister who is both blind and deaf.

Once she realized that what made her happy was being closer to home, she returned to the sport she loved. She is now a Freshman Forward/Guard on the University of Delaware Women's Basketball Team. She has already made a huge impact for the Lady Blue Hens. They won their season opener against St. Francis University. Even though Delaware lost to Princeton, Delle Donne poured in 35 points on the night and was named the CAA Rookie of the Week.

Delle Donne may never experience cutting down the nets after winning a national championship, but in many ways, she is already a champion. She has the heart of a champion. Elena Delle Donne has put her family first, especially her severely handicapped sister. In this blogger's mind, she has won the biggest championship of all: the championship of life itself.