[Her parents] never questioned anything. I took Washington, Oregon State, Oregon, Cal. It's like, we're in for something special tonight. Sabrina Ionescu was born on 6th December 1997 and grew up in Walnut Creek, California, to her Romanian-American parents. Ruthy Hebard, Sabrina's Oregon teammate and best friend: Right off the bat, she was a leader. I didn't tell anyone. His sister, Sabrina, is a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) professional). [53], Ionescu is engaged to former Oregon football player and Las Vegas Raiders center Hroniss Grasu.[54]. According to Ducks coach Kelly Graves, in 2019 Ionescu had "a chance to be a Marcus Mariota, that level of player and an esteemed Oregon Duck when it's all said and done." ", Sabrina: They had posted something about Ja Morant getting one and said that there was only eight or seven people that ever got one in the NCAA tournament, and they listed all the men that had gotten a triple-double. I figured out ways to write poems about basketball the entire year. Sabrina is 18 minutes older than Eddy. 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. Just because I knew she tasted how close it was to winning that national championship. Her twin, Edward also played basketball at the City College of San Francisco and was solely a student in the 2018-19 school year, before walking on to the Ducks men's basketball team in 2019-20. Her father, Dan, once met Luka Dukich, an Executive director for Chicago Bulls, while he was driving Uber in San Francisco. Our dad was the outlet pass, so he didn't stop it for anything. Id play P-I-G, collect the money, Slurpees.. Later that month, Ionescu, Auriemma and Taurasi are among the eight people to speak at the Los Angeles memorial honoring Kobe and Gigi Bryant. That was the only thing he said, and I was like, "All right." You could really see how invested everyone was. Ionescu left Miramonte with a career winloss record of 1199 and a school-record 2,606 points scored. Christie Hemm Klok for ESPN. Edited by Sam Nicodemo and Warren Wolcott. What she had done, as a 12-year-old member of the Toastmasters International Club, was write a speech titled "How My Basketball Dreams Began. 1 defensive team. I mean, we still called each other every night and he knew all about what I was going through. But if I did, they were only tears of joy. She averaged 14.6 points per game to go with 6.6 rebounds and 5.5 assists as she was the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, and ESPNWs National Freshman of the Year, according to Oregons team site. I think she has a chance to really change the game and the way the game is viewed by everybody. 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. Sabrina, at the memorial: If I represented the women's game, Gigi was the future, and Kobe knew it. Graves: She commands and demands and deserves the respect that she's been given. Playing people for money, for Slurpees, whatever it was. Additionally, she was awarded the USBWA National Freshman of the Year presented by the United States Basketball Writers Association. And he came, and his voice was shaking because I had like 10 minutes to decide and I hadn't decided. Ionescu finally committed to Oregon just before the school's 2016 summer term began, driving with her father for 8 hours from their Bay Area home to Eugene, making an unannounced visit to Matthew Knight Arena and telling head coach Kelly Graves that she would join the team. I was happy that she pushed back. The couple recently got engaged on January 20, 2023, and Ionescu even shared a photo from their engagement on her Instagram account. With the eight she'll add in her third year in college, she will become the NCAA leader in triple-doubles. [Laughs] I think she learns a lot from them, which is really cool, and she definitely brings back stuff to share with the team. The fact he was so angry and so aggressive with that. Eddy: At that time, I didn't know or she didn't know whether she was gonna leave for the WNBA. Sabrina: I just don't really like to be out there like that. She debuted for Oregon in November 2016, scoring 11 points in a win over Lamar. Dan Ionescu and Liliana Blaj, her proud parents, welcomed her into the world. And now I use my left hand more than my right. She completed her high school education in Miramonte, California, before attending the University of Oregon in Oregon. According to TMZ Sports, a rookie trading card of Ionescu has officially become the most expensive WNBA trading card in history, selling for $10,800 on Sunday night. Be Unique. Whoever came walking up to the park, we're like, "All right, we'll pick on this guy." NBA stars like Steph Curry and Kobe Bryant take notice of Sabrina's game. The Ducks make the NCAA tournament for the first time in 12 years, as a 10-seed. Sabrina: It was between Oregon and Washington, and I had no idea. 1 pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft taking place this Friday, April 17. EUGENE, Ore. Sabrina Ionescu woke not long after dawn in her small apartment, laced up her black Nikes and walked across a deserted street to the looming arena where she had . | Julio Aguilar/Getty Images Ionescu actually has a twin brother named Eddy who also plays basketball. She has a twin brother named Eddy who played basketball at City College of San Francisco. During her first year, she participated in 14 games out of 29 games, scoring 13.8 points, 2.9 steals, and 3.9 assists per game during that season. Doesn't work. Like Ionescu - who used to hustle grown men for Slurpee money alongside her twin brother - Taurasi is deeply, almost scarily competitive. In the NCAA Tournament Final Four, the Ducks lost to the eventual national champion Baylor 7267. She's not the biggest, quickest, fastest, strongest. Hebard: She loves Steph Curry. 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. Sabrina Ionescu is ready for a full season in the WNBA after an injury-shortened rookie year. Stanley, Read More Stanley Wilson Jr Wife Was He Married? 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. I do thorough research before writing and am always up-to-date on new technologies. We let Oregon down in some way, because we had such high expectations for ourselves. "Sabrina Ionescu joins Oregon Ducks in part-time role". She posted a triple-double in the championship game loss to Chaminade with 24 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds. 1 in the preseason Top 25, the spotlight on Sabrina is brighter than ever. Eddy: We didn't have these crazy expensive trainers, or these really nice exquisite gyms to go to, with the shooting machines and all this. His son and wife were unable to relocate to the United States until 1995. One of those struggles comes in the playoffs later that season, in a semifinal game against Saint Mary's. Sabrina: Everything that I'm going to do, I'm going to make sure that he stays close. The twin brother Edward (Eddy) was born 18 minutes after her. Follow. Sabrina and her brother are both "fairly fluent" in Romanian. Oregon coach Kelly Graves has developed a sense for nights when his star will get a triple-double. Major is general social science. According to a 2020 story in the university's web journal Around the O, more than 70 suggestions were provided, but the four top choices were Mariota, Steve Prefontaine, Phil Knight, and Ionescu. They used to play football and basketball for college-level games. There, she achieved an impressive milestone, becoming the first college basketball player to collect 1,000 assists, 2,000 points, and 1,000 rebounds in a career. !#GoDucks . [43][44] In the end, though, she did not play again for the remainder of her first professional season. Copyright 2023 Endgame360 Inc. All Rights Reserved. I felt her emotional side of it, which is kind of weird to describe. Hebard: I was like, she's always yelling! With 2.6 seconds left, Sabrina misses the front end of a one-and-one that would have tied and perhaps won the game. She hadn't yet rewritten the standard for her peers while inspiring the generation to come. There'd be fights. She was named the winner of the Nancy Lieberman Award as the top Division I women's point guard after the season,[15] and was also a finalist for the Naismith Award. Emma Reed contributed to this report. That's all I said. Someone would cry. She always wanted to learn and to go to every game she could -- college, NBA, WNBA. Now, almost a full year later, the 23-year-old New York Liberty superstar thinks she deserves a new rookie . They just cheered for the team and cheered for Sabrina. She is also the all-time leader in assists (769), steals (549) and triple-doubles (21). Having kids come up to me after the game and just talk to me, wearing my jersey some are shaking and just super excited to meet me is awesome and humbling. Videos Tagged. Before she was born, her family fled Romania during the communist revolution, and Sabrina and her twin brother Eddy were born in Walnut Creek, California on Dec. 6, 1997. She'll turn over right . Tyrese Haliburton Sister, Who Are His Siblings? At the end of the regular season, she was named Pac-12 Freshmen of the Year and unanimous First Team All-Pac-12 and Pac-12 All-Freshman Team selection. April 17, 2020 Nike, Inc. signs WNBAs #1 overall pick, Sabrina Ionescu to multiyear endorsement deal which will include signature footwear and apparel..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:#d33}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:#d33}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#3a3;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}"Nike signs #1 pick Sabrina Ionescu to multiyear endorsement deal". 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. Basketball Player Born in California #37. The scrappy kid from the Bay Area has risen to become the most formidable player in her sport. And she usually delivers. Sabrina is known for her exceptional skills and accomplishments in college and professional basketball. Ionescu comes close to another triple-double with 10 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists. 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. Sabrina: Work ethic and dedication, I learned that from my parents. Young NBA athlete Aaron Nesmiths family, dating life, and, Read More Aaron Nesmith Brother Eddie Nesmith, Parents Girlfriend And InstagramContinue, People are curious about Demetress Bell wife, whether the defensive back has been married or not. Every time I stood up, everyone in unison would be like, "basketball." 3 Stanford", "Sabrina Ionescu's career night leads Oregon past Stanford", "Ionescu Breaks Assist Record in Civil War Win, Ducks 76 Beavers 64", "Oregon Ducks women: Ionescu and Hebard reach milestones in lopsided victory", "Gary Payton congratulates Sabrina Ionescu on breaking his Pac-12 all-time assists record", "Sabrina Ionescu Adds Career Milestone in Win vs. UCLA", "Oregon's Sabrina Ionescu Named Honda Sport Award Winner for Basketball", "WNBA mock draft 2019: Predicting all three rounds", "Liberty Select Sabrina Ionescu No. Everything was fair game. Miramonte goes 119-9 during Sabrina's tenure, and she sets the school record with 2,606 points. Edward has also developed into a basketball player who is involved with various national teams. Her first language was Romanian, which she used when playing with her brother in basketball games. Graves: She claims that she thought I cried. "It's unfortunate we didn't get to see them in the tournament. Scoring 26 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds, she became the youngest player in WNBA history to record a triple double. And we lost the chance to watch her tear through March like she has torn through the record books. The two started playing basketball together when they were in grade school. Sabrina: It tore me apart. She is just driven differently. While we wait and wonder about what will be, we reflect on the moments and milestones that have already been. She was an Oregon Ducks basketball player in college. We just started in a park, you know? She was named the McDonald's All-America game MVP after scoring a record 25 points, including seven three-pointers, with 10 rebounds. Sabrina: We would stay in the park for hours while our parents worked. Ionescu started at Oregon the year after Grasu was drafted. Sabrina Ionescu is 23 years old born on 6th December 1997 in Walnut Creek, California. On November 6, 2018, Ionescu recorded her 11th triple-double in a victory against Alaska-Fairbanks. [7] However, she had difficulty making a college choice, not signing a National Letter of Intent with any school during either the early signing period in November 2015 or the late period in April 2016. [3] By that time, Dan owned a limousine service in Northern California, where he had chosen to settle because he had several extended family members in that area. Seven years later, Ionescu and her twin brother, Eddy, were born. He has an older brother named Nico, who was a placekicker for Washington State from 2008 to 2010. Dan, Sabrina's father: [The twins] always felt comfort with each other. Reels. That stuff comes out in you. Graves: We had a chance. 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. Joki was a Pilipino motorbike enthusiast who, Read More Joki Octaviano Accident And Cause Of Death How Did He Die? [47] Ionescu and her Oregon teammates would be named as the US team for the 2018 3x3 World Cup to be held in June in the Philippines. Eddy has since joined Oregons team. [50], * 2020 NCAA tournament canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic, Ionescu is a Christian. Those are probably my two favorite players. She is the NCAA all-time leader in career triple-doubles, the Pac-12 Conference all-time leader in assists, and the only NCAA Division I basketball player to record 2,000 . I felt like I completely let the team down. Because I think it would have been a really special run," Graves says in a news conference. 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 is expected to be the No. 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. Sabrina enrolls at Oregon and for the first time lives apart from Eddy, who stays in the Bay Area and enrolls at City College of San Francisco. If we only knew when we could see her play her sport again. The Nike Air Zoom GT Cut 2 "Sabrina Ionescu" sneaker edition is slated to be launched on October 13, 2022. What high school did Sabrina Ionescu go to? Rob Herring Wife name is Nicola Herring and they are living a happily married life. It's the Ducks' first trip to Storrs, where 11 national championship banners hang in the legendary arena. We couldn't hear ourselves, we couldn't hear our coach, just because of how many fans were there. Despite having only played for three seasons at this point, Ionescu was eligible for the 2019 WNBA draft by age. I'm kind of a procrastinator, so I let it get to like an hour before I had to decide. Sopak: I'm on the phone with her and she has 19 minutes to notify the WNBA [laughs] if she's going to declare for the draft, and we're seeing things on Twitter that she's going, she's not going, and we're laughing about it because she doesn't know. The card a 2020 Panini. Ionescus impressive performances throughout college included one Pac-12 record, two less than the NCAA record, and four triple-doubles. Graves: There are nights when I can tell she's going to get a triple-double. They make it to the Elite Eight again before falling to eventual champion Notre Dame. Posts. [29], In the second game of her senior season on November 13, 2019, Ionescu surpassed the 2,000 points, 800 assists mark for her college career with a 10952 win over Utah State. Her first language . Sabrina Ionescu Popularity . Show More Posts from sabrina_i. Just being able to, you know, have that platform now at Oregon is something that kind of sparks me to try to just voice my opinion on social media. Your email address will not be published. More importantly, he didn't just show up in my life and leave -- he stayed. Interested shoppers can easily buy them . 4 Stanford. . Cinematography by Monica May; Movement Coaching by Duray Thirdgill; Prop Styling by Dan Jesperson; Production by Amy Ground; Hair & Makeup by Celena Rubin. With Oregon poised for a No. Holly Andres for ESPN. A lot of the Pac-12 schools, just 'cause I knew I kind of wanted to stay closer to home. She was really small, but you could just tell she had a good skill set with her left hand. Sabrina Ionescu gets nervous. Sabrina Ionescu is an American personality who is a professional basketball player and is committed to the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) playing for the New York Liberty. Then he called me and said, "Where are you?" 7 overall pick to draft sharp-shooter Stephen Curry from Davidson College. [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. Not only were they difficult to guard while growing up, but they also, at times, communicated in fluent Romanian, according to The Oregonian. . No statistics available for this season. On April 14, 2020, Ionescu was named the winner of the Honda Sports Award as the best collegiate female basketball player in the nation. Like. So then I was like, "All right, we're going to Eugene.". Sabrina logged 15.0 points per game in her career and 17.4 in 2022 through 36 games thus far this season. Sabrina's father, Dan, didn't know which way he'd be heading the day he picked up his daughter to drive her to college. He and Sabrina stay connected through the Bay Area community and its youth basketball scene. Sabrina: I took a few unofficials. Sabrina: I just remember the first couple practices, always getting the ball stolen from me and not being able to get those passes through just because the level of competition was so high. For over six years, the family was separated. Sabrina gets her first collegiate triple-double just seven games into her Oregon career, in a 91-62 victory over San Jose State. Edward has also developed . [41], On August 1, 2020, Ionescu injured her left ankle in the second quarter against the Atlanta Dream. The Ducks had a lot of success with Ionescu too. I appreciated it. 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 . As a result, she became the youngest player in WNBA history to achieve a triple-double. New York Liberty's Sabrina Ionescu Sets Multiple WNBA Records in Historic Game Among the first was her friend Vanessa. Wife And Net Worth Revealed. Sabrina Ionescu and her twin brother, Eddy, have always shared a special bond that was strengthened by their shared love of basketball. Like regular kids. Sabrina: Growing up, I loved having role models and being able to look up to Steph and Kobe and players like that for inspiration. She is also the NCAAs all-time triple-double leader with 26, and she is fourth on the all-time NCAA womens list in career assists with 1,091. Sabrina, his sister, plays professionally in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). 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. After all, Ive never met another Romanian basketball player on the floor., twin brother Eddy Ionescu gave us tv gold last night with a Romanian breakdown of the game of his sis @sabrina_i20 @OregonWBB #WNCAA pic.twitter.com/YFuCJ2BUDo, Many NBA Players Supported the WNBA in a Big Way. They own and run the "Greco's New York Pizzeria," a pizza restaurant located on Hollywood Boulevard. . Ionescu was one of the top college basketball players in the country starting in her very first college season. Sopak: The car was packed and they didn't know which direction they were going. At the time, she was the highest-ranked recruit ever to commit to Oregon basketball. After becoming eligible in 2019, Ionescu joined the Womens National Basketball Association (WNBA) and continued to show her impressive talents. In May 2021, she recorded her first professional triple-double with 12 assists, 26 points, and ten rebounds. 1 seed in the Pac-12 Women's Basketball Tournament. It motivates her to go back and practice more from learning from her mistakes." Sabrina Ionescu has been in the spotlight since she was a teenager. 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. 3 Oregon arrives for the first time at Gampel Pavilion for a matchup against No. Eddy is also a basketball player. . Kobe was helping her with that because he saw it in her. Namrata is an enthusiastic CSIT student. He just eats, sleeps, loves everything about basketball, which is literally the same thing with her. In late April 2018, Ionescu and Oregon teammates Erin Boley, Otiona Gildon, and Ruthy Hebard entered the USA Basketball women's national 3x3 championship tournament at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Ionescu garnered added attention on Sunday after she clinched her 18 th career triple-double as the Ducks blew out Indiana 91-68 in the NCAA tournament, the culmination of the college basketball . Ionescu's Oregon Ducks also won the Pac-12 championship for the first time since 2000. Kelly Sopak, Sabrina's AAU and high school coach: She eventually just showed up at tryouts. "There won't be another group like this ever.". It motivates her to go back and practice more from learning from her mistakes. Her two brothers were a big help in developing her basketball skills. I went right back at him. Sabrina had her share of failures, and I think that's probably the most powerful thing a coach can give a player is the struggle. Small and stubborn, she willed her game to improve. First Name Sabrina #9. "You just see it's a little bit different in her preparation, in her focus, in her manner," he says. She is now the all-time NCAA triple-double leader for both men and women", "Air Force vs. Oregon Game Summary December 20, 2018 ESPN", "Oregon's Ionescu is espnW's player of the week", "Sabrina Ionescu breaks Oregon assist record in blowout of USC", "The ultimate guide to Oregon senior Sabrina Ionescu", "Sabrina Ionescu powers Oregon to its first Women's Final Four", "Sabrina Ionescu builds her brand as an SOJC master's student", "Ducks' Ionescu eclipses 2,000 points, 800 assists", "Sabrina Ionescu scores career-high 37, breaks program career scoring record to lead No.
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