Ionescu Returns With Twin Goals: NCAA Title and Master's Degree

After the Oregon women's basketball team was defeated in the Elite Eight of the 2018 NCAA Tournament, Sabrina Ionescu memorably said the Ducks would come back the next year "hunting the Final Four."

Ionescu and the UO women bagged that trophy this spring. Now she's setting her sights on even more prominent targets: a national championship, and also a master's degree.

A day after the Ducks' Final Four loss to Baylor this past Friday in Tampa, Fla., Ionescu announced that she would pass up the opportunity to be the No. 1 pick in this week's WNBA draft and remain at the University of Oregon for her senior season in 2019-20. In explaining her decision at a press conference with local media Tuesday, Ionescu also said she's on track to finish her undergraduate degree this June, and has been admitted to a one-year graduate program for her senior season of athletic eligibility.

"I dedicated four years to this team, to my coaches," said Ionescu, the highest-rated recruit ever to sign with the UO women's basketball program when she joined the program in June 2016. "And I needed to do that."

Ionescu led the Ducks to a 33-5 record as a junior, in the process earning the Wade Trophy as national player of the year according to the coaches' association. She was named Pac-12 player of the year for the second straight season, and had an NCAA single-season record eight triple-doubles to extend her career record to 18.

Projections for Wednesday's WNBA draft slotted Ionescu as the No. 1 pick, if she opted to leave Oregon. Ultimately, she said Tuesday, the prospect of making such a decision and telling her teammates and coaches goodbye was too much to bear.

"There was a hole in my stomach," Ionescu said. "It just didn't feel right. At that moment, I knew I wasn't going to be able to talk myself into leaving. That's when I ultimately made the decision."

With Ionescu remaining in Eugene for her senior season, Oregon was tabbed the No. 1 team in the country for 2019-20 in a preseason projection published Wednesday by The Athletic. Along with chasing a national title, Ionescu can burnish her academic résumé in the coming year, as well.

This June, Ionescu intends to wrap up her undergraduate degree in General Social Sciences, with a minor in Legal Studies. That would mean completing a full course of undergraduate study just 36 months after arriving on campus; to facilitate that fast track to a bachelor's degree, Ionescu completed 22 credits in the summer of 2018.

With her undergraduate degree in hand, Ionescu will pursue the UO School of Journalism and Communication's Master of Advertising and Brand Responsibility degree. When she begins graduate studies in Fall 2019, Ionescu will be one of 18 participants in the second-year degree program, which is expected to take nine to 12 months to complete.

In January, Justin Herbert announced his intention to remain at Oregon for his senior season, also passing up a chance at being a No. 1 overall draft pick, in part to continue his course of study in medicine. Ionescu made it two potential top professional prospects to stick around and play for the Ducks as seniors.

"This is a great place for student-athletes," UO women's basketball coach Kelly Graves said. "They can get better, they can be themselves, they can push themselves. They have the support of the administration and the school. I think it says a lot."

The prospects for the UO women on the court are thrilling given Ionescu's decision. The Ducks return their four leading scorers from 2018-19, including Ionescu along with post Ruthy Hebard, emerging star Satou Sabally and three-point deadeye Erin Boley. Though Oregon will miss four-year starting guard Maite Cazorla and clutch reserve forward Oti Gildon, guard Taylor Chavez showed encouraging signs before a foot injury cut short her freshman season, and Sabally's younger sister, Nyara Sabally, was a star recruit who can complement Hebard on the low block.

The Ducks will be supported by depth from forward Lydia Giomi and guard Morgan Yaeger, plus a recruiting class that includes ball-handling guard Jazmin Shelley, sharp-shooter Holly Winterburn and forward Lucy Cochrane.

The prospect of playing with all those teammates, old and new, was a big draw for Ionescu when making her decision, she said. And she's setting the bar extremely high for 2019-20.

"We're going to make the most out of every game, every practice, because it does go by really quickly," Ionescu said. "… We're on a mission to win a national championship. From that first day we start workouts, hopefully in a couple weeks, it's going to be taken seriously, and (we're going to) make sure the team is held to a super-high standard."

Graves said he expects nothing less from his hard-charging star.

"She's going to be so determined and focused this year," Graves said. "She's challenged everybody, and I love it. She's going to get this team motivated – including the coaching staff. We don't want to do anything to disappoint her."

Graves noted that Ionescu already is arguably "the face of women's basketball," at least at the college level. Her profile can grow even bigger as a senior for the Ducks, particularly if they achieve all the grand goals Ionescu has laid out.

"I'm really excited for our team next year," Graves said. "I think we've got a chance to do something really special. … It's going to be a lot of fun – a lot of fun."