DelleDonne Ends on Top

The buzz followed the nation's No. 1 player all the way to a previously elusive Boo Williams title.

STORY & PHOTOS BY CHRIS HANSEN

HAMPTON, Va. - The gauntlet for the nation's best player included a matchup against April Sykes, the No. 2 player in the 2008 class; a much-anticipated semifinal clash against former club teammate Caroline Doty and the inter-state rival Philly Belles, and then the hosts, Boo Williams Summer League. It seemed like everywhere you turned there was a buzz following Elena DelleDonne. The final tournament of her club career also was the most competitive tournament you can find in April, and she shined as bright as she ever in leading her new team, the Comets of Philadelphia, to the title.

Cassie Peoples & Mia Nickson

What is amazing is that it didn’t take a 50-point performance from DelleDonne for her team to win and maybe that’s why it seemed like her brightest moment. She played within the team, dominated the game and opened up the offensive end of the floor up for her teammates with her presence.

Outside of Philadelphia the rest of the Comets may not be household names, but these kids can play - period. As you looked at the personnel for the two teams in the championship game you saw DelleDonne and several kids that will probably play for Division I mid-majors against Boo Williams, which has five legitimate high-major prospects and several others that are definitely D-1 material. The way the Comets players approached the game was refreshing. They seemed unfazed by the usually intimidating size and strength of BWSL.

Michelle Baker, Becky Burke, Megan Pearson, Kerri Shields, Laura Johnson - the list goes on for the Comets and all of them stepped up and made big plays all tournament long. With BWSL keying on DelleDonne and trying to pressure and overplay the rest of the perimeter players, the Comets simply executed at a level that very few teams can this early in the season and made it look easy. They scored layup after layup off of pass fakes and back cuts during backdoor-cutting clinic. They got the ball to DelleDonne inside and gave her room to work and control the game for stretches and, when the defense adjusted, Burke or Pearson or someone else would step up and knock down a big three to knock the air out of BWSL.

Caroline Doty in the battle for Philly

The road to the final was filled with sub-plots for the Comets. The aforementioned matchup with Sykes had so much hype surrounding it that they could have moved that game to Hampton University to accommodate all the spectators. The Midtown Community Center actually had to deny admissions to many people trying to squeeze in the gym to see if Sykes could unseat DelleDonne as the nation’s top player. They opened up the stage at the end tof he court to sit three more rows of people and it was standing room all the way around the gym; by tipoff, you had to be a college coach to get in the gym.

The game was electric and, much like the championship game, it was more about the two teams than one or two players. DelleDonne scored early, Sykes scored late. Both teams made runs and challenged each other and played with a high level of intensity and the Comets shocked most people who thought Essence was the hands-down favorite to win that pool.

Then the battle of Philly took place in the semifinal against the Belles. These kids know each other and played like it was the championship game. And you could see that DelleDonne was on a mission – not to score 50 points, but to win. The teams started out neck and neck and then for short periods here and there DelleDonne took over the game with step-back jumpers, up and unders, and three-point shots. You could feel her presence and her teammates fed off her and gained confidence.

Winning this tournament was DelleDonne’s goal and, in the Comets ,she found a team she felt she could play within, win and not have to do everything. Having won the tournament that had eluded her outstanding club career, she now will train for USA Basketball. She went out on top, showing the heart of a champion and proving she the best player in the country.

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