There weren't many girls' programs for her as she was growing up, but she found a way to continue to improve and pushed herself to be the best. As a freshman at Oregon, she recorded four triple-doubles and was named USBWA National Freshman of the Year. She averaged 14.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game, ranking second on the team in scoring and rebounding, and first in assists. I had this poem book, and we had to write poems for an entire year. She played college basketball for the Oregon Ducks. Eddy: Kobe's just wired different is what she told me. A January 2019 mock draft by ESPN, incorporating input from WNBA personnel and ESPN women's basketball analysts, concluded that Ionescu was a possible top pick should she declare. They make it to the Elite Eight again before falling to eventual champion Notre Dame. We lost nine games while she was in high school. And now I use my left hand more than my right. Her first language . Sabrina Elaine Ionescu (born December 6, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). But when she was a kid, she and her twin brother, Eddy Ionescu, would channel the future Oregon Duck's on-court flair for a far less righteous end goal. Sabrina: If we really, really got into it, there'd be blood. Your email address will not be published. Pac-12 Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Year, NCAA all-time leader in career triple-doubles, "Nike signs #1 pick Sabrina Ionescu to multiyear endorsement deal", "Sabrina Ionescu joins Oregon Ducks in part-time role", "Sabrina Ionescu - Forbes 30 Under 30 Profile", List of NCAA Division I basketball career triple-doubles leaders, List of NCAA Division I women's basketball career assists leaders, "Oregon's Sabrina Ionescu makes history against Stanford", "Sabrina Ionescu: 4 facts about the Oregon women's basketball scoring, assists leader", "Miramonte alum Sabrina Ionescu returns to Bay Area with Oregon", "Her middle school said to play with dolls. 6 Oregon women's basketball past No. Carlos Serrao for ESPN. The scrappy kid from the Bay Area has risen to become the most formidable player in her sport. Small and stubborn, she willed her game to improve. Eddy has since joined Oregons team. He once played at the City College of San Francisco before moving to Oregon, where he joined the Ducks men's team in 2019-20. At the time, she was the highest-ranked recruit ever to commit to Oregon basketball. Seriously, word-for-word." Their warm-ups were elite, and so I think that just goes to show what they built there and what we're trying to build here. Ruthy Hebard, Sabrina's Oregon teammate and best friend: Right off the bat, she was a leader. Because I think it would have been a really special run," Graves says in a news conference. Sopak: Even though I didn't know until, I think, eight minutes before the deadline, when you step back and look at it, it was like that was the only thing she was going to do, if you know Sabrina. She has 21 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists in the third-ranked Ducks' 74-66 win over No. Hebard: She loves Steph Curry. She has played in three games with the Liberty so far. Edward has also developed . [51] She was close with Kobe Bryant, with whom she had one-on-one training sessions, and spoke at the Kobe & Gianna Bryant Celebration of Life at the Staples Center on February 24, 2020. Graves: She commands and demands and deserves the respect that she's been given. He also appeared in games against Utah, Oregon State, and California. I felt her emotional side of it, which is kind of weird to describe. Stanley, Read More Stanley Wilson Jr Wife Was He Married? Likewise, she attended Miramonte High School in Orinda, California. Sabrina Ionescu is an American basketball star, who plays for the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). [50], * 2020 NCAA tournament canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic, Ionescu is a Christian. I try to score, and try to rebound and pass, and just do everything that I can to help the team. And then Kelly didn't say anything, he just handed me the papers with the stats on it and continued to have his postgame speech. Photo by Serena Morones . Doesn't work. In the second round of the NCAA tournament, a 91-68 win against Indiana, Sabrina gets her first triple-double in a tournament game. ", "I started to play basketball at the age of 3, though I was just throwing the ball around. 1 pick in the 2020 draft. In a November exhibition game, she has 30 points, 7 assists and 4 rebounds to lead the Ducks to a stunning 93-86 victory over the U.S. women's national team, which features her heroes and soon-to-be WNBA peers like Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi. Her soon-to-be favorite player entered the league in 2009, when the Warriors used the No. [16] Ionescu became NCAA women's all-time leader in triple-doubles,[17] trailing only former BYU men's player Kyle Collinsworth (with 12) among all NCAA players.[18]. NBA stars like Steph Curry and Kobe Bryant take notice of Sabrina's game. There was no celebration; Ionescu went home to the apartment across the street from Oregon's basketball facility that she shares with her twin brother, Eddy. Earlier that day, she had been a featured speaker at the memorial service for Kobe Bryant, who had become a close personal friend within the previous two years, flying from Los Angeles to the Bay Area immediately after her speech.[2]. Her talent hasn't gone. Parents Age And Net Worth RevealedContinue, Your email address will not be published. Ionescu also shares her knowledge with boys and girls at camps and academies, including Bryant's Mamba Sports Academy. Sabrina was around three years old when she first picked up a basketball. [Her parents] never questioned anything. Ionescus stellar play in college led to her becoming the No. I know on one Instagram post she kind of talked about, you know, "I let my basketball do the cooking," or whatever the case. And then I started reading them and I was like, "Oh, I got a triple-double.". Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. It was hard. Eddy recorded an average of 6.0 points per game in his first year in 2016-17, and as a sophomore, he recorded 9.9 points per outing in 2017-18. Five bucks to the winner. The couple recently got engaged on January 20, 2023, and Ionescu even shared a photo from their engagement on her Instagram account. 1 in W.N.B.A. In her second WNBA game on July 29 against the Dallas Wings, she recorded 33 points, 7 assists, and 7 rebounds in 34 minutes of play. She needs to be playing on that kind of a stage. She always wanted to learn and to go to every game she could -- college, NBA, WNBA. We talked a lot about basketball and just how to not really change the program, just how to put our footprints on the program and just make it a better place. 4 overall player in the recruiting class of 2016. He noted that attendance at Oregon women's games had dramatically increased during Ionescu's career at the school. Sabrina: The fact that I had to fight for every rebound, because he wasn't going to give me anything easy, is kind of what I translate to my game now. But if I did, they were only tears of joy. Ionescu's friends and family were excited to congratulate the athlete. I went on a walk and just tried to clear my mind to figure out what I wanted to do. Oregon's Sabrina Ionescu (20) celebrates after a game against Mississippi State during the 2019 NCAA women's tournament. After the NCAA made the extraordinary decision last week to cancel its tournaments, The ultimate guide to Oregon women's basketball star Sabrina Ionescu, Women coaches discuss their ascension in the men's league, Ionescu is women's college basketball's player of the year, NCAA to discuss granting athletes eligibility relief, Why Megan Rapinoe's brother Brian is her greatest heartbreak, and hope, Whatever happened to Villanova basketball star Shelly Pennefather? Oregon coach Kelly Graves has developed a sense for nights when his star will get a triple-double. I'm torn.". As a kid, Ionescu was always competitive, playing sports with and against her twin brother Eddy. Sabrina Ionescu was born on December 6, 1997, in Walnut Creek, Contra Costa County, California, United States. Eddy Ionescu, aka Edward 'Vortex' Ionescu, followed the same path as her sister and is a professional basketball player like her sister. Sabrina Ionescu selected No. We were the best shooting team in the country. The fact he was so angry and so aggressive with that. Auriemma: When she walks out, you go, "That kid's not gonna run by anybody, jump over anybody." After an. Later, he was transferred to Oregon Ducks and played for them like his sister. 706K followers. She did believe every word she wrote [in her speech when she was 12]. I just walked into the locker room and knew we won. He drove to my house to pick me up [Sabrina's parents had divorced], not knowing whether we were going to drive to U-Dub or Oregon. Sagittarius . She played college basketball for the Oregon Ducks. And that fourth quarter, we just didn't shoot the ball well. But you see your parents just going to work every day, working hard. He hoped that his then-wife, Liliana Blaj, and their son Andrei could join them in a few months, but they were unable to move to the US until 1995. Now, almost a full year later, the 23-year-old New York Liberty superstar thinks she deserves a new rookie . It allowed me to push her more than I could push any other player to be great. Sabrina: We struggled, and I think we didn't handle adversity very well. . I do thorough research before writing and am always up-to-date on new technologies. It's Oregon's first triple-double since 1988. ', The mind, body and soul of the WWE's Charlotte Flair, Bam Adebayo is the fiercest, best NBA player you don't know. Edward, born on December 6, 1997, is only 18 minutes older than his sister. [Laughs] I think she learns a lot from them, which is really cool, and she definitely brings back stuff to share with the team. In her career, Ionescu was the first player in NCAA history (male or female) to score 2,000 career points and have 1,000 career rebounds and 1,000 career assists. [28], On April 17, 2020, the New York Liberty selected Ionescu with the first overall pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft. [37][38] Ionescu also won her second straight Naismith College Player of the Year award, Wade Trophy, Associated Press Women's College Basketball Player of the Year award, and USBWA Women's National Player of the Year award. That same day, Ionescu flies to the Bay Area for a game against Stanford. However, things did not go as per plan for Dan. Sabrina was only three years old when she chose basketball for her free time. Sabrina Ionescu's brother Eddy Ionescu is an American professional basketball player for the New York Liberty. Sabrina Ionescu Popularity . At first he was a little skeptical. Her twin is Edward Ionescu also referred to as Eddy. They broke down the game, and then. She was named Pac-12 Freshman of Week four times and was named USBWA National Player of the Week. Whoever came walking up to the park, we're like, "All right, we'll pick on this guy." She has recorded 10-assist games 13 times this season, handing out a league season-high 14 twice. If we ever needed a player, I would just look at Sabrina. Sabrina: He believed in me, and he knew that this is kind of what happens your freshman year, you just figure out how you're supposed to play, what works, what doesn't work. Ionescu comes close to another triple-double with 10 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists. They were all riled up, and we got a steal, passed it to Sabrina, and she went up for a layup and the guy intentionally fouled her, just pushed her, two hands, in the back. She completed her high school education in Miramonte, California, before attending the University of Oregon in Oregon. No one spoke. On Feb. 3, with so many still in mourning, No. You just see it's a little bit different in her preparation, in her focus, in her manner. [31][32] In the rivalry game against Oregon State on January 24, 2020, Ionescu had 24 points, 9 assists and 4 rebounds and broke Oregon State and NBA star Gary Payton's Pac-12 all-time record of 938 assists. After becoming eligible in 2019, Ionescu joined the Womens National Basketball Association (WNBA) and continued to show her impressive talents. Sabrina Ionescu is an American professional basketball player signed to the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Is the twin brother of Duck women's basketball superstar Sabrina Ionescu, who was the 2019 Wooden Award and Wade Trophy winner and holds the NCAA career triple-double record for both men and women . Additionally, she would receive her bachelor's degree that June. If we didnt want somebody else knowing what I wanted to do like a pick-and-pop, or watch me in the corner, or drive to the left wed say it to each other in Romanian, Eddy said, according to The Oregonian. [36] Ten days later in the Ducks' 7466 win at #4 Stanford, she became the first NCAA player ever with 2,000 points, 1,000 assists, and 1,000 rebounds in a career. Ionescu was born in Walnut Creek, California, to Romanian-American parents. Prior to his career as a Duck, he appeared in 63 games at City College of San Francisco, where he averaged 9.9 points per game in 2018. Sabrina: I could tell Eddy was really nervous. Children Age And Net WorthContinue, Joki Octaviano Accident caused death after having life-threatening injuries. Kind of like describing Sue [Bird]. In addition to the career record, Ionescu also held the Miramonte top three single season scoring records with 598 (201314), 760 (201415) and 834 (201516). Ionescu is perfectly pixilated for today's generation of young fans, who grew up watching basketball not just on ESPN but also XBox and PlayStation. We drove up here, walked in, surprised [coach] Kelly Graves. Ionescu's role includes assisting with the development of student . As the years passed, the game respected her wishes. [49] At the World Cup, they were the youngest team in the field, but swept their pool, defeating Cup holders Russia along the way. Heading into her junior season, Sabrina has 10 triple-doubles in her career. Sabrina-Ionescu with her team meat. She was diagnosed the next day with a[42] grade 3 sprain, and was expected to miss about one month while recovering. She is also the Pac-12 Conference all-time leader in assists as well as the only NCAA Division I basketball player to record 2000 points, 1000 assists, and 1000 rebounds in her career. What high school did Sabrina Ionescu go to? On the morning of Jan. 26, 2020, the sports world stands still when news breaks that Kobe and Gigi Bryant are among the nine passengers killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. We print the highest quality ionescu t-shirts on the internet She then averaged 19.7 points per game in her sophomore season to go with 7.8 assists and 6.7 rebounds, and then 19.9 points per game, 8.2 assists, and 7.4 rebounds in her junior year. She wants to win a national championship. Meta. 1 in the preseason Top 25, the spotlight on Sabrina is brighter than ever. 213,394 likes. The couple used to study at the same college University of Oregon. Sabrina is expected to be the No. I gained a lot of experience playing on my brothers' 10-foot hoop. She was born to Romanian-American parents, Dan Lonescu and Liliana Blaj. [33][34] Payton personally congratulated Ionescu on the achievement. It's like, we're in for something special tonight. Ionescu went to a middle school where there weren't . "My Romanian heritage influences my life on a daily basis and is something that I find pride in," she says. These shoes will be priced at $170 per pair. Sopak: Even at that age she just had this swagger about her. Graves: I think Sabrina in New York, if that's the way it works out, is a match made in heaven. I mean, none of us had been in that position. It's a great role model for other kids to watch and say, "That kid's doing it, not just by God-given foot speed or strength or agility, she's doing it because she's just skilled. Graves' remarks about Ionescu's future iconic status at Oregon proved to be prophetic. We were always so competitive, and I think it's 'cause we were the same age. That stuff comes out in you. A daughter of Romanian immigrants who fled their homeland after the 1989 revolution, Ionescu took to basketball "just trying to keep up" with her brothers in the driveway while growing up the . A lot of the Pac-12 schools, just 'cause I knew I kind of wanted to stay closer to home. Sabrina's ancestry is Romanian-Caucasian and has a twin brother, Edward. We'd do whatever we could in order to win something. While Ionescu is known for her skill on the basketball court, her personal life has also been a topic of interest for fans and the media. She's going to play at that level. Sabrina Elaine Ionescu (born December 6, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Why is she not starting?" I'm kind of a procrastinator, so I let it get to like an hour before I had to decide. Hebard: I think it's just amazing to see what she accomplishes because she works so hard, and then, like, triple-doubles, that's such a big thing. She then joined the City College of San Francisco but later transferred to the University of Oregon. [Laughs], Seattle or Eugene? Sabrina makes an immediate impact, including 24 points and 12 rebounds in a 69-55 win against defending state champion Archbishop Mitty. That was the only thing he said, and I was like, "All right." Taurasi: Maybe your parents don't necessarily speak English really well when you're a kid, and you may have to do some things other kids don't. I mean, we still called each other every night and he knew all about what I was going through. I went to Stanford. Produced by Nancy Devaney and Emma Reed. That's what I admire most about her. Sabrina: I love having a relationship with [Curry], just being able to remember when I was little, watching him and kind of emulating my game after him, to now being able to call him or text him any time that I need help with something. Sabrina Ionescu. Parents Age And Net Worth Revealed.
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