Delaware Blue Hens
Overall Rank: #13
Conference Rank: #1 Colonial
Delaware Team Page
One year ago, a lot of women’s college basketball fans never heard of Delaware. Oh sure, they could have told you where the state was, but as far as where the Blue Hens were in basketball circles? What a difference one name makes. Elena Delle Donne singlehandedly put Delaware basketball on the map, improving the Blue Hens overnight from a respectable 20-14 club to one that went 31-2 overall, won the Colonial Athletic Association championship and was then shocked by Kansas in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
2011-12 record: 31-2 overall, 18-0 CAA
2012 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Tina Martin
Coach Record: 309-177 overall
Strengths:
Elena Delle Donne’s comeback alone puts Delaware in the strength column. Voted the CAA Preseason Player of the Year and a preseason favorite for national player of the year, Delle Donne has 2,258 points, a 39.6 percent field goal percentage, 586 free throws for her career and 204 blocks… and that’s even before she enters the final season on the job. As a long-range shooting threat who also blocks shots and rebounds, she does it all. The return of Lauren Carra, the team’s second-leading scorer, also brings back a scoring threat. Trumae Lucas, the Blue Hens’ leading assists player, is also back. There are enough cogs in this engine that Delaware really is loaded.
Weaknesses:
Behind Delle Donne and Carra, the team’s scoring drops off fairly fast. Delaware will need to pick its game up and bring in one or two more double-digit scorers if it wants a chance to advance past the second round of the national tournament. A 33.2 percent 3-point percentage is acceptable, but the Blue Hens would like better production.
Final Projection:
Delaware improved by 11 games last year and only lost twice. The Blue Hens lost once to Maryland in non-conference play and then fell to Kansas in the NCAA tournament. The team could stand a tougher schedule, but for now the Blue Hens are playing their usual mix of second-tier NCAA programs and CAA opponents. Delaware should head for another season of 25-30 victories, but how much farther the team goes in NCAA tournament play is completely in the air.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA
Projected Starting Five:
Elena Delle Donne, Senior, Guard/Forward, 28.1 points and 10.3 rebounds per game
Lauren Carra, Senior, Guard, 10.2 points, 31.9 percent from 3-point range
Danielle Parker, Senior, Forward, 8.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, co-leader (Delle Donne) with 39 steals.
Trumae Lucas, Senior, Guard, 6.8 points, led team with 112 assists
Akeema Richards, Junior, Guard, 6.2 points, 4.4 rebounds
Madness 2013 WNBA Draft Rankings:
#2 Elena Delle Donne
Madness 2012 Women's Basketball Recruit Rankings:
#154 Jade Clark
