By Mel Greenberg
NEWARK, Del - Mona Lisa is smiling again
.
However, the acclaimed work of women's basketball art that has been relocated somewhere near the office of coach Tina Martin here in the Bob Carpenter Center is off the market for now.
The "glee" that Elena Delle Donne's father Ernie and mother Joanie saw disappear from their 18-year-old daiughter on the hardwood has emerged as part of the volleyball attire of the newest member of the defending Colonial Athletic Association champions.
Apparently all those years on display in packed high school arenas in front of collegiate recruiters from around the country has taken its toll.
"Burnout" was the word the former Ursuline Academy star used Monday to explain to a heavily-attended press conference why she suddenly declined to be part of the newest prized items acquired by that esteemed talent collector: UConn coach Geno Auriemma.
Delle Donne is Delaware's possession now: Local girl makes headline-screaming decision to stay home, but in a much different setting.
On Monday Martin's only involvement in Delle Donne's introduction was to send a statement that "the door is open" in the event the passion for basketball returned.
Ironically, while Delle Donne's newsworthiness was giving U.S. Senator Joe Biden tough competition -- "Didn't I just see you guys camped out his house over the weekend?" volleyball coach Bonnie Kenny, a Tennessee graduate, joked to a sportswriter -- Martin was trotting past the Carpenter complex showing a potential recruit the wonders of the Delaware campus.
At that moment, Martin was unable to repeat the statement made to a prospect years ago by UCLA legendary coach John Wooden after a Brookjlyn kid named Lew Alcindor (aka Kareem Abdul-Jabber) chose the Bruins for his collegiate future.
"We just picked up the best high school player in the country -- maybe of all time -- and surely we have a chance to elevate our fine program here to unprecedented levels."
Ever the self-disciplinarian, Martin has adopted her own hands off policy regarding Delle Donne, while at the same time knowing a return of basketball passion means getting into homes of recruits who would not otherwise answer the phone call made by the Blue Hens.
It would also mean increased crowds, national TV coverage and ultimately a way to end Old Dominion's longtime domination of the CAA.
Unlike many Big East pursuers of UConn and Rutgers, a Delle Donne-led Delaware squad would offer a short-cut to the NCAA tournament.
"There's also the legacy factor," said Holy Family women's basketball coach Mike McLaughlin, who several years ago had Division I projected superstar Nina Smith fall into his Division II squad.
"You're in the newspapers more. Your games get better coverage. You're on TV a few more times, even ESPN comes by. You're the buzz and you can set up your recruiting success and tougher non-conference scheduling to continue after her graduation."
A week ago, when it was only known that Delle Donne was heading to Delaware after biding UConn adieu, a shudder could be felt around the CAA, though coaches, citing NCAA rules, didn't want to comment for the record.
"Yeah, I already have butterflies in my stomach thinking about dealing with (Delaware)," said one.
"You know sooner or later I'm going to have to deal with stopping her," said another whose team has made recent inroads in the conference.
But for now, Martin is just focused on returning the Blue Hens towards the upper portion of the CAA where Delaware has usually resided until last season's plunge caused by graduation of star performers such as Tyresa Smith
.
While the basketball segment stands down,Delle Donne won't slip from public view and the dilemma for Kenny and the athletic adminstratkion is how to manage a potential enhancement for volleyball and the school in general without subjecting Delle Donne to the same admittedly self-inflicted pressures that came from a celebrity status dating back to the eighth grade.
Although Delaware officials scheduled Mondau's press conference as a way to help Delle Donne avoid having to give the same interview 50 times over the next severa weeks, the turnout was characterized as the third biggest ever.
Only famed football coach Tubby Raymond's retirement and the subsequent introduction of K.C. Keeler, his successor, topped Monday's event, a Delaware official said.
For the second straight week,a major Delle Donne news story set a record here at the Guru's blog just ahead of the 1,350 "hits" from a week ago when she issued a statement saying she would be attending Delaware. That occurred after UConn announced her withdrawal two days earlier.
This week's dynamic was somewhat different. A week ago, interest in Delle Donne bvegan early in the day and slowed in the closing hours before the "statcounter" rolled back to begin with the new day.
On Monday, traffic was somewhat heavy through 1 p.m. off the media link from WNBA.com because of the Guru's commentary about the Olympic team (post several items below this one).
Then after a quick report was made off the press conference here, traffic spiked the rest of the day, fueled by a bunch of sites that put up links to the Guru's report.
Incidentally, in the initial report the Guru promised more but decided to get into commentary instead because most quotes in his new digital recorder are also noted in John Altivilla's blog at the Hartford Courant and Rich Elliott's report at the Connecticut Post.
The Guru can add that one person in the Delle Donne camp not at the press conference expressed pleasure that Elena had come a long way over the summer and was able to convey her situation publicly for the first time.
Kenny also gave a stirring pitch about the dangers of club level participation in her sport as well as basketball that leads to burnout situations such as that experienced by Delle Donne.
Elena said that if she achieves a measure of volleyball celebrity she reached in basketball, her past experiences will help her deal with it better if it arises.
"It's been incredible. I've been all smiles since I've been here and I hope it continues."
And so Mona Lisa left the room with her new volleyball teammates looking ahead to this weekend's opening trip on the West Coast.
In the basketball world, however, the art show has been closed for renovations.
-- Mel
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