Big Three Ready For Historic Draft NIght

When Sabrina Ionescu was a child, the WNBA wasn't as prominent as the league is today, when it garners increased exposure and rights fees from ESPN.

Back when she and twin brother Eddy were battling each other and unwitting marks in pickup games around the San Francisco Bay Area, Ionescu knew she wanted to play professionally one day. Whether that meant the NBA, the WNBA or something else, she didn't care — she just wanted to play.

And yet: The first jersey Ionescu ever owned was the No. 25 sported by Becky Hammon with the WNBA's San Antonio Stars. Fast forward a few years, and Ionescu later this week will be able to put on a WNBA jersey with her own name on the back.

The league will hold its draft Friday evening (4 p.m. PT, ESPN) and Ionescu is widely expected to be selected No. 1 overall by the New York Liberty. Some projections have the Dallas Wings taking Satou Sabally with the second pick overall, and the third member of the "Big Three" from Oregon women's basketball, Ruthy Hebard, is projected as a first-round pick as well.

Ionescu would join a select group of UO student-athletes taken with the first pick of the first round in any sport. George Shaw went first overall in the 1955 NFL Draft, and Dave Roberts was the first pick of the 1972 Major League Baseball draft.

"At a young age I always wanted to play professional basketball, whether it was in the NBA or the WNBA," Ionescu said Tuesday during a teleconference with local media. "I always had that goal of playing at the next level. It's going to be an amazing experience to be able to say I'm a professional, hopefully, and to be able to play at the next level."

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the draft will be conducted virtually. ESPN has supplied players with kits to enable their participation in Friday's broadcast, and the WNBA sent them caps for every team in the league, so they can don the appropriate one after being selected.

The WNBA draft is three rounds, all held Friday evening. Maite Cazorla last year became the fourth UO alum drafted by the league — following Cathrine Kraayeveld, Amanda Johnson and Jillian Alleyne — but there's never been a first-round WNBA draft pick from Oregon. That should change Friday, in a big way.

"It's a big accomplishment for Oregon basketball," Sabally said. "I'm sad I won't be able to be with Ruthy and Sab, but I know we're all together in our hearts."

Should Ionescu and Sabally go 1-2, they'd be the first pair of teammates taken with the top two picks since Breanna Stewart and Moriah Jefferson out of UConn in 2016. Remarkably, another of their teammates, Morgan Tuck, was selected third that season.

"It's really cool to be able to have us three at the top," Ionescu said. "We put pressure on ourselves this year to try and be the best, and make sure we all worked hard. It's been awesome to see them get the player awards (as the best in the country at their positions), and I'm so excited to get to share this with them."

If Ionescu has her way, she'll be sharing more than a draft night experience with at least one of her Oregon teammates. On Tuesday, she was asked by a reporter what sort of team atmosphere would be most conducive to success for Hebard, and Ionescu was quick to chime in.

"I'm trying to pick her up on whatever team I end up on," she said with a laugh. "So hopefully she'll thrive in the atmosphere we're in together."

That might just have been playful banter — but there also might be more to it. Also Tuesday, Ionescu promised that an ESPN projection of Hebard to the Seattle Storm with the No. 11 pick wouldn't come to pass; "Ruthy won't get to 11, that's all I can say," Ionescu said.

A day later, a trade was announced by the WNBA. The most interesting element for Oregon fans, in light of Ionescu's prediction Tuesday, was that the Liberty had acquired the No. 9 pick Friday night. ESPN later updated its mock draft, with New York using its new No. 9 pick on Hebard.

So? Will Ionescu and Hebard take their pick-and-roll game to the Big Apple together? They can dream, at least for a couple more days — and Duck fans can dream along with them.

"I think about playing with her forever, because she's one of my favorite, best friends and such a good player," Hebard said. "But I'm trying to keep everything open. Wherever I go it's going to be fun. It's just a blessing to be drafted."

A fourth member of the 2019-20 UO women's team, Minyon Moore, also could be selected Friday.

"There hasn't been a lot of talk about her, but there should be more," Hebard said. "She'll work her butt off every day and she'll be a great teammate at the next level."

Sabally called Moore "a generous soul, and the hardest fighter I've ever seen. She came into practice ready every time. ... She's just such a presence on a team, that makes people want to do more."

Ionescu said she's spoken with new Liberty coach Walt Hopkins, who took over the team to help it rebuild after going 10-24 last season. The chance to play in New York would obviously provide even more exposure for Ionescu after she became the face of women's college basketball while leading Oregon to the Elite Eight in 2017 and 2018, and the Final Four in 2019.

"I've only been there twice, so I don't really know a lot about New York," she said. "But I'm definitely, hopefully, excited about the opportunity to play there, at Barclays Center. And just the marketability there is in New York, the hustle and bustle, could be beneficial not only to myself as a person but as a brand for women's basketball. If I get that opportunity, I'll definitely be excited to try to use that to the best of my ability."

Ionescu would be well suited to leverage her brand on a big stage thanks to the education she's received at the University of Oregon. After finishing her undergraduate degree in three years, Ionescu has spent the 2019-20 academic year in a one-year master's program within the School of Journalism and Communication, in advertising and brand responsibility.

That program has continued despite the abrupt end to Oregon's basketball season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The university has employed online instruction this spring.

"The teachers and the program have been great," Ionescu said. "This is my last quarter, so I'm kind of just pushing through so I can get this done and get my master's. … It's been cool to see how they've changed to everything online and how they're adjusting."

Back when Ionescu was growing up with dreams of playing professionally, she never could have foreseen how her college career would end, and how the draft process would be conducted amidst the current crisis. Just as shocking was the accident that claimed the lives of her friend and mentor Kobe Bryant and eight others in late January.

But Ionescu continues to handle all the challenges 2020 has thrown her way with maturity. She fought through her grief after Bryant's passing to lead Oregon to Pac-12 regular-season and tournament titles. And on Friday, a surreal draft week is expected to end with Ionescu being selected No. 1 overall.

"I came back to win a national championship, and then you don't win it, you try and see if there's any regrets," she said. "But I'd say it was probably one of the best decisions of my life. Although there were many ups and downs through the year, I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else besides there.

"Obviously one of the worst years of my life, but also one of the best. And being able to share that with the community, with the school, with my teammates for one last time was a blessing."

University of Oregon Athletics

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Maite Cazorla

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