Super Star: University of Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu has set the record books on fire in college basketball

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, March 3, 2020

On Feb. 24, Sabrina Ionescu stood in front of 20,000 mourners in Los Angeles and a national television audience and talked with love and humor about how much Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, meant to her.

That the 22-year-old University of Oregon graduate performed with such poise and grace surprised no one who has gotten to know Ionescu during her career helping the Oregon Ducks women’s basketball program to new heights.

That some six hours and a plane flight later, Ionescu made college basketball history at Stanford also didn’t surprise.

Despite the strain of the Bryants’s memorial and an upset stomach that prevented her from eating, Ionescu played a leading role as the No. 3-ranked Ducks beat traditional power and No. 4-ranked Stanford to wrap up a third consecutive Pac-12 regular-season championship. Her contribution: 21 points, 12 assists and 12 rebounds. It was her 26th career triple-double. That’s a college basketball record for women or men; more than double the 12 Kyle Collinsworth posted for the Brigham Young University men a few years back.

And, with her ninth rebound that night, the Walnut Creek, California, native became the first Division I college basketball player to amass more than 2,000 points, 1,000 assists and 1,000 rebounds.

Those numbers are part of the reason Ionescu is the most recognized and discussed college basketball player in America — woman or man.

But that kind of attention isn’t why Ionescu — who won multiple national player of the year accolades as a junior — delayed entering professional basketball and returned to Eugene for a fourth season. She returned for one more season of college basketball to help the Ducks fight for their first national title. But, as she wrote in a letter published Feb. 24 by The Players Tribune, she returned to Oregon to solidify the foundation of a program that has meant as much to her as she has to it.

“It’s been about building up this program to a place where it’s not just about us — it’s also about future Lady Ducks teams, after we’re gone, also having the ability to win championships here,” she wrote.

National title in their sights

The Ducks have a shot at that first national title.

On April 17, Ionescu is expected to be the first pick in the WNBA draft by the New York Liberty.

Ducks Satou Sabally and Ruthy Hebard also are projected to go quickly.

Before that, if all goes as planned, Ionescu, fellow seniors Hebard and Minyon Moore, and junior Sabally will play nine more games for the Ducks. This weekend, it’s the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas. Then comes the NCAA Tournament, where Oregon is projected as a No. 1 seed. Win two home games at Matthew Knight Arena, and the Ducks will advance to the regional at Moda Center, scheduled for March 28 and 30. Win twice there and it’s off to New Orleans for a second consecutive Final Four and the shot at the national title.

For the Ducks, of course, a national title would be a ground-breaking accomplishment, and a storybook way to conclude Ionescu’s Oregon story.

But even folks in Eugene say Ionescu’s significance is felt far and wide.

“People who aren’t even Duck fans are turning in to see if she is going to get another triple-double,” said Tash O’Brien, who played at Oregon between 1996 and 1999 and now coaches South Eugene High girls basketball team.

O’Brien compared Ionescu’s impact on women’s basketball in Eugene to that of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team, and marveled at the sold-out games at Matthew Knight Arena.

“People are recognizing that women’s sports in general, and basketball specifically, is a really fun sport to watch. and Sabrina’s been the main reason for that.”

Standing the test of time?

Nationally, basketball experts discuss whether Ionescu’s 26 triple-doubles (and counting) and her career statistics will ever be approached by another college player. Most pundits think it unlikely because players handling the ball enough to record 1,000 assists aren’t likely to be in position to grab 1,000 rebounds.

Then again, the way Ionescu has redefined the point guard position, perhaps someone modeling her game after Ionescu’s will approach her numbers.

Andy Landers coached 36 seasons at Georgia and ranks fifth on the all-time wins list in women’s college basketball. Now a studio analyst during ESPN’s women’s basketball telecasts, Landers believes Ionescu’s legacy will be much larger than her impressive statistics.

“There have been a lot of great players. Sabrina isn’t the first. But there haven’t been many who represented our sport, and spoke on behalf of our sport in such a way that it draws people into our sport,” Landers said. “I think her lasting impact will be that she has reached out and touched a lot of young players in a way that will motivate their interest in playing, continuing to play and playing at a different level.”

Smarts count

At 5-foot-11, Ionescu isn’t unusually tall. She isn’t the quickest player on the floor. But she is the smartest player on the floor, usually seeing the game one or two moves ahead of everyone else. And her drive to learn the game is surpassed by her competitiveness.

“The thing that I enjoy more than anything else about Sabrina is the grit. I enjoy her competitive zeal,” Landers said. “You hear people say from time to time that every possession is important. She plays like every possession is the only or the last possession, more than anyone else in the country.”

Hebard and Ionescu will be forever linked in Oregon basketball lore. The 6-3 forward from Fairbanks, Alaska, has scored more than 2,200 points in her four seasons, many of them on the end of passes from Ionescu.

Their connection on the pick-and-roll developed quickly, but not necessarily easily. Hebard recently recalled an open gym session before her freshman season, and laughed.

“She started yelling, and I was thinking: ‘Oh, my gosh. This is going to be a long four years.”

Oregon head coach Kelly Graves says Ionescu’s growth as a teammate has been significant to Oregon’s success.

“When she was first here, she was hard on her teammates from time to time. If they didn’t have the same level of commitment that she did, she couldn’t understand that and was really hard on them,” Graves said. “I think now she’s learned how to channel that a little bit. Instead of being so direct, she’s learned how to work around it and get their level of play back up, encourage them more. I think that’s a huge area of growth for her.

“But she’s still, inside, the same person. She’s just now more skilled, more confident. Tougher. Deep down inside she still has all those intangibles that she was really born with.”

Minyon Moore, who transferred to Oregon this season from the University of Southern California, has known Ionescu for years. As high school seniors, they were teammates on a Cal Stars club team that won an elite national tournament. She describes Ionescu as “Goofy, but focused.

“She’s a fun person. We’re great friends off the court,” Moore said. “But she knows you have to be focused and she knows what it takes to win. That’s why we’ve been so successful.”

Driven to excellence

Ionescu is no easier on her coaches than on her teammates. Graves appreciates the professional growth he’s had while coaching Ionescu.

“She knows B.S. when she sees it, so you better come prepared because she will be. And you better know what you’re talking about because she does,” Graves said. “She studies the game. She looks at all the same film I do. And I watch a lot. She is doing it on her own as well. So she drives me to be a better coach. I have to be prepared each and every day. I have to have an up day.”

Bev Smith is now fifth on Oregon’s all-time scoring list, having been passed this season by Ionescu and Hebard, who are now 1-2 on that list. Smith starred at Oregon from 1978-82, coached the Ducks for eight seasons and is now the executive director of KidSports in Eugene. Smith has watched Sabrina’s influence on the court as a radio analyst and off of it as a youth basketball coach.

“Every single game she approaches as a masterpiece and leaves her signature on it. And that’s really hard to do,” Smith said. “That’s what really impressed me with how she performs each and every game in a way that would honor anyone seeing her for just one time. They would get who Sabrina Ionescu is.”

Smith grew up in Canada in the 1970s and had only hockey players to look up to. She said she particularly enjoys the opportunity for young girls she coaches to have role models like Ionescu and her teammates. But at times there are coaching challenges.

“Last year we had to have a Sabrina rule that you can’t shoot the 3 anytime like Sabrina,” Smith said. “Let’s focus on the other parts of her game. She rebounds, so let’s focus on rebounding. She gets more assists than anyone, so let’s focus on that.”

Passing is the Ionescu skill that fascinates Landers.

“Passing is the piece of basketball that gets overlooked and taken for granted. We are quick to criticize people or teams that turn the ball over, but we rarely recognize those that don’t,” he said. “Her ability to pass the ball at the right time to the right person at the right place regardless of position on the floor, from baseline to baseline, is what I enjoy the most skill wise.”

Landers is especially impressed by Ionescu’s ability to read the post defender on pick-and-roll plays and consistently deliver the optimal pass. He noted that many players get away with delivering such passes a little early or a little late, so Ionescu’s precision goes unappreciated.

“It’s absolutely amazing,” Landers said. “She always, every time, reads that post defender to perfections and passes at the exactly right split second.”

Fan favorite

With Ionescu leading the charge, Ducks women’s basketball has become a must-see in Eugene. Last week’s games against Washington and Washington State were both sellouts of 12,364 bringing average crowds for the nine Pac-12 home games to 11,700.

Those crowds span ages and genders. Prominent among the green-and-yellow clad crowd are a plethora of basketball jerseys with the No. 20. The girls who, after Oregon’s win, will wait for a chance for an autograph or a photograph with Ducks players are not alone in donning the jersey. Fathers, grandfathers, mothers, college students and young boys proudly wear the jersey of Sabrina Ionescu.

Arriving for a game last month, O’Brien — who loved playing in front of 5,000 or so fans at McArthur Court as a Duck — marveled at the diversity of the throng heading to the arena. She noted that large photographs of each player is displayed in Erb Memorial Union on campus.

A native of Australia, O’Brien said she was never a soccer fan before watching the U.S. Women’s National Team. What’s happened in Eugene, she noted, is another example of a special team and special player showing that women’s sports can be widely popular.

Next up: The pros

In a few months, Ionescu will be a professional basketball player. The transition to the WNBA will take time.

“She will have some challenges, but she’s so very prepared and she’s so very smart and she’s such a student of the game that I think she’ll study ways to overcome any challenges that she does have,” Smith said.

After spending this season as the most recognizable player in college basketball — woman or man — it will be interesting to see how her down-to-earth yet larger-than-life persona will play in New York City.

Those who have watched Ionescu transform into a national sensation and lift the Ducks to prominence have a good idea.

“Her greatest gift is the ability to have her teammates rise up to (her) intensity level,” Smith said.

“She’s got great character, but she can be a character off the floor, which I think really makes her team-friendly. For a person of her status to remain humble and to remain grounded with what’s really important in a team game is also a real cool quality of hers.”

Smith doesn’t know Ionescu well. But her interactions with Sabrina at KidSports events or Ducks games always impressed.

“It’s been a real pleasure and honor to be around her aura,” Smith said.