Ionescu’s instant impact and potential makes her perfect poster athlete for New York sports after COVID-19

No. 1 WNBA draft pick Sabrina Ionescu has already made her presence felt before even suiting up for New York Liberty, whose season is on hold due to COVID-19. (Photo by NBC Sports)

By Ray Floriani (@rfloriani)

The setting was Webster Bank Arena, a somewhat chilly, overcast March day hinting warmer temperatures were still weeks down the road. The Bridgeport Regional semifinals in the 2017 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship featured Oregon facing Maryland, while UConn and UCLA were set to square off in the other contest. The general consensus was that Maryland and UConn would battle it out the following Monday evening for a trip to the Final Four on the line. Oregon had other ideas.

    

Establishing an early lead and maintaining it, Kelly Graves’ tenth-seeded group went on to upset Maryland, the No. 3 seed, 77-63. On press row, women’s basketball guru Mel Greenberg quipped, “I think my lede will be, ‘Maryland ducks UConn.’” Two nights later, the Huskies romped, ending Oregon’s 23-14 campaign. 

    

The record shows Sabrina Ionescu scored a game-high 21 points against the Terrapins. The then-freshman guard shot 7-of-13 from the field (3-of-5 from 3-point range) and grabbed six rebounds while handing out a game-high seven assists. Her performance did not hint at a franchise player, a la an Elena Delle Donne,  performing before our eyes, as for the game, four Oregon players scored in double figures in a balanced attack. However, if there was a takeaway, it was how a freshman guard logged 38 minutes, hitting big shots, looked for teammates and consistently made the right decisions, a freshman playing with upper-class poise. 

Through her Oregon career, Ionescu’s numbers increased. The constant was those qualities she put on display that day in Bridgeport. In simple terms, she made her teammates better with contributions on the floor and encouragement, some of it tough love, in the huddle. The Ducks won 97 games her last three years, including this past season’s 31-2 mark, which undoubtedly would have had more entries in the win column had the coronavirus not ended the season.  

For the first time in its 24-year history, the New York Liberty had the first overall pick in the WNBA Draft. This was an obvious choice. Forget those numbers for a second. Concentrate on the fact that Ionescu is constantly dialed in and certain to raise the level of play during her time on the floor. On another note, she wants to be in the Big Apple. 

In recent years, first-round picks headed to struggling franchises may have said the right thing, but deep inside dreaded their fate, a reality of more losses in their first year than all of high school and college combined. In 1984, Michael Jordan was chosen by the Chicago Bulls. Rather than lament his fate, Jordan instantly set about a journey to make the Bulls relevant in championship conversation. Ionescu is committed to doing the same with the Liberty. To little surprise, Ionescu has been compared, by Graves, to both His Airness and Diana Taurasi in terms of desire, intensity, and what Graves calls “competitive greatness.” 

Ionescu is beyond the 2,000-point, 1,000-rebound, 1,000-assist numbers machine. She is wired into perfection. She told Bleacher Report of not sleeping well and/or getting sick before games, not due to fearing an opponent, but fearing not living up to expectations she set for herself and her team. She has an uncanny feel for the game. It was noted, in the same report, how she might release a shot not feeling a good spin on the ball, then apologizing to teammates for making — what she felt was — a bad shot. She also possesses the mamba mentality of her mentor, Kobe Bryant, one constantly working and seeking the road to basketball perfection. On February 24, Ionescu spoke at the memorial for Bryant, his daughter and seven others who died in the late January helicopter crash. That evening, she was in Northern California taking the floor for a meeting with powerful Stanford. The visiting Ducks prevailed, 74-66, with Ionescu scoring 21 points while securing her 1,000th career rebound on that night. 

Ionescu’s sojourn to Brooklyn is part of a complete overhaul of the Liberty: New home at Barclays Center, new coach in Walt Hopkins, new logo, new faces via the draft, and recent standout Tina Charles traded to Washington. 

On draft night, Oregon had three former players selected in the top ten. Satou Sabally was the number two pick by Dallas, while Ruthy Hebard went to Chicago at eight. The consensus among those in the college game is No. 1 pick Ionescu was the main reason the Ducks transformed from a WNIT team to national championship contender. 

Around Barclays Center, the feeling is that a similar transformation can take place. The Liberty added UConn’s Megan Walker in the ninth spot of the draft, acquired Jocelyn Willoughby of Virginia in a trade at No. 10, and chose Louisville guard Jasmine Jones at the No. 12 position. Jones’ Louisville teammate Kylee Shook, the Atlantic Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year, was chosen one spot later. With a relatively young group, Hopkins is looking for Ionescu to make her presence felt not just on a stat sheet, but as a leader as well. “She’s a phenomenal leader in multiple ways,” Hopkins told Newsday. “She’s not someone who stands back. She comes down on teammates and you can watch the way they respond. It’s not easy to be that kind of leader.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has everything on hold, not just for the Liberty in the hard-hit New York metropolitan area, but the entire WNBA as well. Ionescu cannot wait to get to New York and get started. About an hour after her selection, her Liberty jersey sold out on a fan site. Obviously, the fan base shares the former Oregon star’s excitement and anticipation.