Womhoops Guru

Mel Greenberg covered college and professional women’s basketball for the Philadelphia Inquirer, where he worked for 40 plus years. Greenberg pioneered national coverage of the game, including the original Top 25 women's college poll. His knowledge has earned him nicknames such as "The Guru" and "The Godfather," as well as induction into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007.

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Guru Report: Delle Donne Draws an Internet Crowd and Kuester Returns to Philly Summer League

By Mel Greenberg

Based on results your Guru seems to show more productivity when he doesn't blog than when he does.

Of course just like old times at the start of her enrollment to college it doesn't hurt when former Delaware star Elena Delle Donne is in the news as she was this week with a smashing WNBA debut, scoring 22 points to lead the Chicago Sky to an opening day rout of the Phoenix Mercury on Monday afternoon in Arizona.

Hencecforth on Tuesday the Guru could not at first figure what was driving his pageviews -- granted not in the league as the big boys and girls but good enough in Guru world -- considering nothing new had gone up on the blog since late last week wirth Mike Siroky's column and the ongoing updating of the collegue coaching carousel.

Finally after looking under the hood, the Guru found a swarm of google searches on Delle Delle Donne, particularly with the world salary that served as a magnet to the Guru's national locale here considering at the time of the draft he posted the rookie scales.

Curiously, though, both former Baylor star Brittney Griner, taken overall No. 1 by Phoenix, and former Notre Dame star Skylar Diggins, taken over No. 3 behind Delle Donne by the Tulsa Shock, were also mentioned in the same blog and other blogs though maybe not as often as Elena because of locality.

When the count went onto recycle a Guru blog record 1,826 views occurred followed in the last 24 hours by another 1,400. Delle Done was also involved in high numbers at the start of her collegiate enrollment (not the basketball) when a different counting system employed also set high marks for here.

By the way you fans in Newark, not the New Jersey one where the New York Liberty play one more season for the geographically challenged, you may not have seen the last of your heroine at the Bob on campus but that topic holds for now until near the end of the summer.

Incidentally, the Guru will be at the other Newark at The Prudential Center Friday night when the Liberty hosts Tulsa, and in Washington Sunday when the Mystics host the Atlanta Dream.

Philly Summer League Draft -- Surprise - The Return of Kuester

On Wednesday night (as in last night), the draft for the Philadelphia/Suburban NCAA Women's Basketball Summer League was held at the Kelly Bolish Gym, home of the AAU Renegades, the site once again for the competition in Hatboro, Pa.

The games, a set of doubleheaders on three separate courts, begin June 18 on Tuesday and Thursday nights (with some jiggering into several Wednesdays because of the July 4th holiday week) and ends with the final round of the playoffs the first week in August.

As it turns out longtime commissioner David Kessler, who begins his 20th summer on board despite several appeared retirements, is not the only comeback addict.

Former Saint Joseph's star Katie Kuester, who graduated a year ago and starred on successive champions in the league the last several summers, is back although it was thought it was adios in late August when she headed off to Lehigh as director of basketball operations.

"I love this league. I went through a bunch of compliance officers to make sure it was OK," Kuester grinned Wednesday night while helping to organize the teams.

As it evolves, everything is honky dory in a league that will see a slew of Hawks, many of whom helped coach Cindy Griffin capture the Atlantic 10 title in March for her first-ever and Saint Joseph's first NCAA appearance since 2000.

The Guru will have all the rosters posted next week as soon as they are all firmed up and remember it is his intent to shift coverage to his local Philahoopsw.com blog if some photographers can be found to shoot some of the action.

Demand is such that only one slot is left and the league will expand to a 13-team operation, up one more from last summer.

Look for more info next week.

The College Scene

Two vacancies still remain in D-1 coaching at St. Peter's and Sacred Heart, though some names had beeen mentioned with both jobs.

Though the re-organized Big East does not yet have an organization, commissioner, etc., it appears Chicago at the Allstate Arena, where the WNBA Chicago Sky play, will be the site of the first women's basketball tournament while as has been heavily reported the football group, phasing into the American Athletic Conference or The American, will house the first women's tournament at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn., home of the WNBA Connecticut Sun.

Temple coaches believe their recently announced class may be the best since Tonya Cardoza succeeded Dawn Staley in July 2009.

The Guru will be in Knoxville late next week for the next inductions to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, highlighted locally here with former Saint Joseph's coach Jim Foster, recently hired at Chattanooga, and former Rutgers and WNBA New York star Sue Wicks.

The Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame will announce its new class on June 6 and several prominent names will be in the group from women's basketball.

Ok. Time to sign off although things the Guru's friend Courtney -- the Princeton coach -- never told him while turning her Tigers into an Ivy monopoly.

There is a backup all-night Fedex place from which this is being written right off the main highway the Guru uses approaching his return to the region from trips ranging to Connecticut, the Liberty and, of course, nearby Jadwin Gym.

Good to know.

-- Mel








- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

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