Get to know Sabrina Ionescu, from her stellar Oregon career to Kobe Bryant friendship

All eyes are on Sabrina Ionescu today as she prepares to be the most likely No. 1 choice in the 2020 WNBA Draft. Ionescu remains in that position thanks to her unbelievable skill– matched by a similarly outstanding career at Oregon– which has actually led her to end up being pals with a few of the very best basketball players in the game.

Prior to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic canceled significant sporting occasions throughout the world, consisting of the NCAA Women’s Competition, Ionescu looked to lead the predicted 1-seed Ducks to the national championship, simply 4 years eliminated from the Women’s National Invite Competition.

Ionescu extremely well might have done simply that; she is the NCAA’s all-time leader in career triple-doubles and the Pac-12 Conference’s all-time leader in helps. Ionescu won the Naismith and Wade prizes– on top of her second- straight Wood Award– as the very best gamer in women’s college basketball for the 2019-20 season. She likewise was called national gamer of the year by the Associated Press, USBWA and ESPN.

Here’s whatever you need to know about Ionescu’s Oregon career as she takes her game to the next level:

MORE: A timeline of Sabrina Ionescu’s friendship with Kobe Bryant

Sabrina Ionescu Oregon statistics

On Feb. 24, 2020, i n the Ducks’ 74-66 win at No. 4 Stanford, Ionescu ended up being the first NCAA gamer ever (guy or female) to reach 2,000 points, 1,000 helps, and 1,000 rebounds in a career.

Ionescu had actually formerly passed the 2,000- point, 1,000- help turning points, however got in the game 9 rebounds except 1,000 With 1: 50 left in the 3rd quarter, she made history.

Ionescu career statistics at Oregon

Games played/started 142/142
Minutes per game 346
Field goals/attempts (pct.) 905/1991 (.455)
3-pointers/attempts (pct.) 329/799 (.422)
Free throws/attempts (pct.) 423/497 (.851)
Rebounds 1,040
Assists 1,091
Blocks 38
Takes 207
Scoring (per game) 2,562 (180)

Sabrina Ionescu Oregon highlights

Ionescu’s 2,000 -1,000 -1,000 mark might be her most noteworthy current emphasize, however she has actually taken pleasure in plenty more over her four-year career in Eugene.

The season prior to Ionescu got here, the average home participation for the Ducks was 1,501 By her sophomore season, it had actually increased to more than 4,200; in her junior season, that balance leapt to 7,148 Wherever she goes, Ionescu raises the participation– even on the roadway. When the Ducks checked out Washington throughout her junior season, the crowd was 3,000 more than the Huskies drew 2 nights previously versus Oregon State.

Ionescu assisted lead the Ducks to 23 wins as a freshman in 2016-17; that mark enhanced to 33, 33 and 31 in her sophomore, junior and senior seasons, respectively. The team likewise reached the Elite 8 in each of her first 3 seasons, consisting of the Final 4 in 2019.

Since she would have been 22 prior to completion of 2019, Ionescu was qualified to state for the 2019 WNBA Draft, where she likely would have been a leading choice. Rather, Ionescu picked to return to Oregon for her senior year, stating in “The Players’ Tribune” that she would be back her senior year to participate in to “unfinished business”– implying an Oregon nationalchampionship She penned the open letter the day after Oregon lost to Baylor in the Final 4.

With her blazing a trail, Oregon likewise won the Pac-12 regular-season titles in 2018, ’19 and ’20 and the Pac-12 Competition in 2018 and ’20 Here are some highlights bundles from Ionescu’s storied Oregon career:

2020 Pac-12 championship highlights

2019 NCAA Competition highlights

2018 NCAA Competition highlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMSm0MNrwXI

2018 Pac-12 championship highlights

2016-17 highlights

Sabrina Ionescu height

Ionescu is noted at 5-11, 3 inches taller than the typical WNBA guard (5-8).

Sabrina Ionescu-Kobe Bryant friendship

Ionescu ended up being the first gamer to reach the historical 2,000 -1,000 -1,000 mark on among the most challenging days of her life– after speaking at Kobe Bryant’s event of life previously that early morning.

Bryant was purchased the future of women’s basketball, and he and Ionescu bonded through their shared interest in the sport. Ionescu considered him a buddy and a coach, and even assisted coach his child, Gianna “Gigi”Bryant Ionescu stated it was unique for her to reach that milestone on Feb. 24 (2/24) in honor of both Kobe and Gigi– Gianna Bryant used No. 2, and Kobe Bryant used No. 24 for half of his career.

“That one was for him,” Ionescu stated. “To do it on 2/24/20 is huge. We had talked about it in the preseason. I can’t really put that into words. He’s looking down and really proud of me and just really happy for this moment with my team.”

Ionescu likewise protected her 26 th triple-double in the 4th quarter as Oregon clinched the Pac-12 regular-season title with a 74-66 win over Stanford. Ionescu ended up with 21 points, 12 rebounds and 12 helps.

Bay Location for life

Ionescu matured in Walnut Creek, Calif., 30 minutes from where the Warriors play in Oracle Arena. When Oregon played Cal in February, Steph Curry brought his children to see their first ever women’s basketball game.

Ionescu has actually participated in Warriors games for many years, and has actually ended up being pals with Curry; while he does not know if his children will play basketball, he still sees Ionescu as a good example for them.

“It’s amazing to see what she’s made of herself,” Curry informed ESPN after the game, a 93-61 win for the Ducks. “And it’s incredible what she’s done on the court. How that’s changed the attention and awareness of where the women’s game is. When you see her out on the flooring, the eye test. Statistics, they imply a lot. When you get to viewing someone and see the enthusiasm that she brings, it’s in her eyes.

” The competitive nature that she has, you can’t teach that.”

How to pronounce Sabrina Ionescu’s name

Ionescu’s name, which is Romanian, has actually triggered some confusion as to its pronunciation. People won’ t be getting her surname incorrect for a lot longer if her meteoric rise continues.

Repeat after us: YO-ness-coo.

It must be kept in mind Ionescu is the child of Romanian immigrants. Her dad, Dan Ionescu, left Romania throughout the 1989 transformation and looked for asylum in America. He wound up owning a limo service in northern California, where he had actually picked to settle due to the fact that of a number of extended family members because location. Sabrina and her sibling are both “relatively proficient” in Romanian. Mentioning which. .

Sabrina Ionescu’s twin Eddy likewise bets Oregon

Ionescu has a twin sibling, Eddy, who likewise plays basketball atOregon They have actually jokingly compared themselves to “( Steph) Curry and Klay (Thompson),” with Ionescu being Curry. Ionescu is older by 18 minutes, and they have actually been extremely competitive considering that youth. Ionescu played on a club team and filled in on Eddy’s all-male team when required when she was more youthful.

Ionescu confessed to the Washington Post that she is a “natural scorer,” however the advancement of the rest of her game came from playing together with young boys and older women.

“When I was younger, I was always playing with the guys, and I had to find ways to get the ball, because they never wanted to pass to me,” Ionescu stated in an interview. “So I figured that if I could rebound, I would be able to get the ball myself. Then passing-wise, when I was in sixth grade playing with the eighth-grade team, I was obviously a lot shorter, skinnier, smaller than they were. I would just have to find ways to impact the game other than shooting or scoring, and that was passing.”

In Ionescu’s intermediate school, there weren’t sufficient players to form a ladies’team When she asked for to play on the young boys’ team, she was rejected.

“My middle school said I should be playing with dolls. Seriously, word-for-word,” Ionescu informed the Post. “It’s funny now. I wish I could go back and just tell those people they had made a mistake.”

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