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WNBA DRAFTApril 15, 2013Elena Delle DonneBRISTOL, CONNECTICUT ELENA DELLE DONNE: Hi, everyone. I just wanted to say how excited I am about this opportunity to play at the Chicago Sky. This is definitely a dream for me, and I am so thrilled to be continuing my basketball career in Chicago. Q. In what ways do you think that your game is ready right now for the WNBA, and in what ways do you need to put some work in and what areas are kind of lacking in your opinion? ELENA DELLE DONNE: I think right now my versatility is something that's going to be very helpful in the WNBA, and things that I can work on obviously is getting stronger, really working on my body, working with a nutritionist to gain some weight, get bigger, because it's definitely a very strong and powerful league. Q. As a follow‑up, if you look at what the Sky has on its roster, how do you see yourself fitting in with the players that they have? ELENA DELLE DONNE: I think playing alongside Sylvia Fowles, Courtney Vandersloot, Epiphany Prince, Swin Cash, all those players are awesome, and I think I'm actually going to fit really well into that system. I also think that we'll be able to spread the floor a lot and really create some room for Sylvia inside to really go to work in the paint. Q. Can you just describe what kind of a dream this has been for you, and when you kind of really first became aware of the WNBA and how long you've been thinking about this moment? ELENA DELLE DONNE: You know, this has definitely been a dream ever since I started playing basketball. I wanted to play it professionally, so I've had my eye on the WNBA, and I've been lucky enough to have a league to go play in after college. You know, that's a big thank you to the women before me who made this possible. Q. Which position do you see as your most natural one? ELENA DELLE DONNE: To be honest, the 3 and the 4 are definitely my most comfortable positions, but I will play any position that Coach Chatman wants me to play. Q. Much has been made about your leaving Connecticut and going to Delaware, playing volleyball for a year and then getting motivated by watching the NCAA Tournament. Was that really what happened, or really what got you back into playing basketball again? ELENA DELLE DONNE: Playing volleyball and just taking a year away, figuring out what was important to me outside of basketball was very key to me, and it's been a growing experience, and I've really just been able to find that passion for the game. I absolutely love this game and plan on playing it until my body can no longer play it. Q. As a first round draft pick there will be a lot expected of you. Do you feel like the last four or five years at Delaware really prepared you for that, kind of having those expectations? ELENA DELLE DONNE: Yeah, without a doubt playing at Delaware prepared me for this time in my life. You know, not only playing at Delaware but also being able to play on the USA Basketball team was also another great learning experience for me. I'm really excited to just get out there to training camp and start working. Q. And what was the experience like for you tonight? I know you had looked forward to it for a while. ELENA DELLE DONNE: This was an experience of a lifetime and I couldn't even have imagined how great this was. I'm just so happy right now and I'm really excited to step back, soak it all in and enjoy this moment in my life. Q. A lot has been made about your offensive game and a couple critics might say you lack a little defensively. Pokey is a defensive coach. What are you going to do to fit in defensively with the Sky? ELENA DELLE DONNE: I love that Pokey is a defensive coach because she's going to be able to help me a lot with my game and tell me what I need to do. I'm going to spend extra hours in the gym with her and do whatever she wants. But in college I've been able to fit in the paint, change shots, be more of a shot blocker and a lot of times was worried about getting in foul trouble and now I don't have to worry about that anymore. Obviously we have another foul, in the WNBA we get six, and I can be much more aggressive on the defensive end. Q. Is there a current player in the pros that you would compare your game to? ELENA DELLE DONNE: You know, I really don't compare myself with anyone, but a lot of times people will compare me to Lauren Jackson and Candace Parker, but I like to think of myself as having my own game. Q. I just wanted to ask if you could just reflect maybe in the last month to six weeks with the CAA championship and then two NCAA games in Newark and the trip to Bridgeport and then tonight with the draft, what's this last six weeks been like for you? ELENA DELLE DONNE: It's been quite a whirlwind of emotions throughout these past six weeks. What I did at Delaware with my teammates has been absolutely incredible, and then the last game, it's my last college game ever, which was pretty emotional, and then I had a couple days to sit back, take in my college career, and then I'm off to the draft. Now I'm picked to play for Chicago. I couldn't be more happier than I am now. It's another moment that I want to sit back, enjoy, take this in because I'll never be drafted again. This is a moment of a lifetime. I want to enjoy it. After I'm finished up here I'll go home for a little bit, definitely start training really hard and get ready to move to Chicago. Q. Have you heard from any of your‑‑ I know it's only been a couple hours, but have you heard from any of your teammates? ELENA DELLE DONNE: I actually heard from them all before the draft. They were all saying good luck and that they were watching me. I haven't really been able to check my phone much after the draft because I've been doing a lot of media, but I'm sure I'll have some texts from my teammates. Q. What do you think is your best part of your offensive game and what do you think you need to most improve on headed to Chicago? ELENA DELLE DONNE: I think the best part of my offensive game is that I can play a lot of different positions on the floor so my versatility is going to be something that definitely will help me, and I want to work on defending guards because obviously I can play the 3 position, I need to defend it, also. I'm going to be a lot more aggressive on the defensive end. I don't have to play like I did at Delaware where I knew I was playing 40 minutes and couldn't foul out. Now I can definitely be far more aggressive and Coach Chatman is a great defensive coach, and I look forward to working with her. Q. And how are you going to adjust to coming to Chicago, playing in front of the bright lights and whatnot? ELENA DELLE DONNE: I mean, you know, in college you still do play in front of the bright lights. It's not anything that I'm going to shy away from. I'm very excited to be playing in Chicago, and it's going to be a great experience. Q. Had you remained at Connecticut you likely would have been a player who was put in one position and stayed there. By going to Delaware and helping build that program you got to play a lot of different positions. In some ways was that as important as anything in what that switch led you to? ELENA DELLE DONNE: To be honest when I made the decision to leave UConn I didn't even think I was going to be playing the sport of basketball so I wasn't thinking about growing as a basketball player, but now that I can look back on it I've had a lot of challenges at Delaware, not only playing at a bunch of different positions but also facing different defenses where there's a lot of trouble and triple teams and even junk defenses. I definitely think that's helped my game and made me a lot more creative. Q. Does playing professional basketball in the WNBA, does that give you some freedom to your game? I've heard you talk about maybe getting freed up from some of those junk defenses, but does it also give you the freedom to try some new things, maybe some things you've always wanted to do in your game? ELENA DELLE DONNE: Yeah, I think playing in the WNBA will give me a lot more freedom, especially on the offensive end, because I'm not going to have to worry about beating my first defender and then having a double team coming at me. I think I will be able to use a lot more moves and show a little bit more of my offensive repertoire. Q. How grueling is that to have always‑‑ I am assuming it happened pretty much every game, to go against double and triple teams. ELENA DELLE DONNE: It was extremely grueling, but I'm a competitor, so whatever they were bringing at me, I was going to try to counter it and beat them. I do think it has grown my game an incredible amount by always going against double and triple teams. It was quite a challenge, and it makes me become a lot more creative with my game and figure out different ways to score and get open. Q. Like a walk in the park in the WNBA with just one person guarding you. ELENA DELLE DONNE: I don't know if I'd call it that, but it'll be a little different. Q. A couple family oriented questions for you. Are you in a good place compared to your freshman year in terms of family issues? ELENA DELLE DONNE: Yeah, of course I am. I was an 18‑year‑old girl, not really sure of what I wanted in life at that point, and now I'm a 23‑year‑old woman, and I absolutely adore the sport of basketball. I love it. It's my passion, and I cannot wait to step on that next level, the professional level. I've had college to grow and learn how to spread my wings without my family always holding my hand. I'm ready to move to Chicago and get my career moving. Q. Have you heard from our vice president yet? ELENA DELLE DONNE: I haven't heard from him yet, but I hope maybe we'll be able to get in contact. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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