Oregon senior goes first in WNBA Draft; Sabally, Hebard also first-round picks
Sabrina Ionescu hit the big-time Friday, as in New York City.
The University of Oregon senior and top college basketball player in the nation the past two years was selected No. 1 by the New York Liberty in the WNBA Draft on ESPN. The draft was held without attendees due to the COVID-19 sheltering guidelines.
Ionescu set numerous records at Oregon as well as the Pac-12, and is the only college player to finish her career with 2,000 combined points as well as 1,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists.
"I've been working for this for my entire basketball career and super excited to see that come to fruition,'' Ionescu said from her home in California. "I'm very humbled and excited for the opportunity.''
In an early sign of what is to come in terms of merchandising clout and popularity with Ionescu, her fans rushed to the team's website to snap up her new Liberty jersey, which sold out within an hour of her being drafted No. 1.
Later in the day, Ionescu and Nike announced they had reached a marketing deal for her to wear that companies shoes.
New York won the league's draft lottery in September, having the best odds from the four teams that did not reach the league playoffs. The WNBA Draft lottery uses combined team records from the two previous seasons as part of its equation. The Liberty was 17-51 the past two seasons.
Oregon truly hit the jackpot for draft picks as fellow Duck Sabrina Sabally was selected second by the Dallas Wings and Ruthy Hebard was taken eighth by the Chicago Sky.
The league's 12 teams drafted through three rounds.
Oregon State guard Mikayla Pivec was taken by the Atlanta Dream with the first pick of the third round.
The league schedule had been slated to start May 15, but that's on hold.
IONESCU GETS UNANIMOUS APPROVAL
Returning for her senior season worked out pretty good for Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu record-wise.
Ionescu capped an unprecedented college career by entering an exclusive club Monday, March 23.
Oregon’s star guard was the unanimous choice as The Associated Press women’s basketball player of the year, receiving all 30 votes from the national media panel that selects the Top 25 each week during the season.
Since the award was first given in 1995, the only other player to receive all the votes was Breanna Stewart of Connecticut (2016).
“That’s pretty crazy - someone I look up to and have a good relationship with,” Ionescu told the AP Monday. “To be in that class with her is an honor.”
Ionescu, who was only the eighth player to earn AP All-America honors three times, shattered the NCAA career triple-double mark and became the first player in college history to have 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists.
Ionescu averaged 17.5 points, 9.1 assists and 8.6 rebounds this season as well as having eight of her 26 career triple-doubles.
She helped the Ducks, who started the season ranked No. 1, win the Pac-12 regular-season and tournament titles. The native of Walnut Creek, California, was honored as the conference’s most outstanding player of the tournament and regular season.
Oregon had a 31-2 record and was headed toward playing host to the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament, as well as a likely spot in the Portland Regional set for the Moda Center when the season abruptly ended due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
