sabrina ionescu brother

It's awesome to be part of a team that has accomplished that. [1], Because Ionescu turned 22 in December 2019 she was eligible to declare for the 2019 WNBA draft. Later, he was transferred to Oregon Ducks and played for them like his sister. "There won't be another group like this ever.". 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. You just see it's a little bit different in her preparation, in her focus, in her manner. Show More Posts from sabrina_i. During that time, her father's wife was Liliana Blaj, who was living apart from her only husband. Sabrina, his sister, plays professionally in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Also Read: Was Karl Malone Arrested For Rape Allegations? It's like, we're in for something special tonight. Death Cause And Mental Health, Katrina Gorry Partner Clara Markstedt Is A Soccer Player Children and Age Revealed, Aaron Nesmith Brother Eddie Nesmith, Parents Girlfriend And Instagram, Demetress Bell Wife Is He Married? Ionescus love for the sport started at a young age, as she began playing basketball when she was only three years old. I would just have to find ways to impact the game other than shooting or scoring, and that was passing. 107 posts. Eddy Ionescu, a professional basketball player with the New York Liberty, is Sabrina Ionescu's brother. And he definitely helped me with that, growing up. Sabrina Ionescu WNBA Stats | Basketball-Reference.com Ionescu went to a middle school where there weren't . Hroniss Grasu, Sabrina's partner, is a well-known free agency football center who has experience playing for several clubs, including the Chicago Bears, Miami Dolphins, and San Francisco 49ers. This team is based in Brooklyn and is well-known in the WNBA. She has a twin brother named Eddy who played basketball at City College of San Francisco. Her father, Dan Ionescu, fled communist Romania around the time of the 1989 revolution, seeking political asylum in the United States. So we decided to build a future together. Too nervous to sleep. Ionescu also helped lead the Ducks to the Final Four in 2018-19. I'm kind of a procrastinator, so I let it get to like an hour before I had to decide. I think he almost started crying, gave me a hug, everyone was super happy, and then I started school the next day. She was an Oregon Ducks basketball player in college. Sabrina Ionescu Bio (Wiki) - Married Biography Sabrina: My dad would try to coach from the stands, and he'd yell stuff in Romanian to me. And then I started reading them and I was like, "Oh, I got a triple-double.". Forward Ruthy Hebard bought into her best friend's mission of changing the culture at Oregon. On February 26, 2018, Ionescu was named ESPNW's college basketball player of the week. Ionescus impressive performances throughout college included one Pac-12 record, two less than the NCAA record, and four triple-doubles. Ionescu also played for the University of Oregons womens basketball team. Sabrina Ionescu is an American professional basketball player signed to the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Every time I stood up, everyone in unison would be like, "basketball." [16] Ionescu became NCAA women's all-time leader in triple-doubles,[17] trailing only former BYU men's player Kyle Collinsworth (with 12) among all NCAA players.[18]. However, these rumors are entirely false, and she is not gay. When they were kids, the two used to even hustle older men on the basketball court so that they could get money for Slurpees. Hebard: I think it's needed. Sabrina Ionescu's Big Moment Wasn't the One She Expected Eddy: I wasn't too jealous of the people she's met until Steph and Kobe. Blog . [28], On April 17, 2020, the New York Liberty selected Ionescu with the first overall pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft. [13], Ionescu rose to national prominence in her sophomore year, she led the Ducks to their third regular-season league crown all-time and first-ever No. He hoped that his then-wife, Liliana Blaj, and their son Andrei could join them in a few months, but they were unable to move to the US until 1995. Her two brothers are. She is also the all-time leader in assists (769), steals (549) and triple-doubles (21). She has two brothers: twin brother Edward and another Andrei Ionescu. I do thorough research before writing and am always up-to-date on new technologies. Kelly Sopak, Sabrina's AAU and high school coach: She eventually just showed up at tryouts. Sabrina: What we've been building these last couple of years goes to show women's basketball is valued. So I figured that if I could rebound, I would be able to get the ball myself. Doesn't work. She then averaged 19.7 points per game in her sophomore season to go with 7.8 assists and 6.7 rebounds, and then 19.9 points per game, 8.2 assists, and 7.4 rebounds in her junior year. Sopak: Even at that age she just had this swagger about her. [3], On November 13, 2016, Ionescu made her collegiate debut for Oregon, recording 11 points in an 8467 win over Lamar. Then he called me and said, "Where are you?" Sabrina Ionescu: Face of the Franchise - Boardroom Liliana Blaj, Sabrina's mother: She's the hardest self-critic. But if I did, they were only tears of joy. . Sabrina: I showered, I had some food. Her 1.93-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio was second-best in the Pac-12. If we only knew when we could see her play her sport again. The twin brother Edward (Eddy) was born 18 minutes after her. 1 in the preseason Top 25, the spotlight on Sabrina is brighter than ever. Katrina, Read More Katrina Gorry Partner Clara Markstedt Is A Soccer Player Children and Age RevealedContinue, Aaron Nesmith brother name is Eddie Nesmith. Sabrina: That's all I talked about. Dan: She will not back down from anything, and he will not back down from anything. Stanley, Read More Stanley Wilson Jr Wife Was He Married? If we ever needed a player, I would just look at Sabrina. Sabrina Ionescu - Net Worth, Age, Bio, Wiki, Fact, Nationality "Sabrina Ionescu joins Oregon Ducks in part-time role". [Laughs], Seattle or Eugene? "She's an unbelievable talent on that team," Curry would go on to say in a Warriors news conference. A Big 3 of Jones, Stewart and Ionescu would. NBA stars like Steph Curry and Kobe Bryant take notice of Sabrina's game. But you see your parents just going to work every day, working hard. Seven years later, Ionescu and her twin brother, Eddy, were born. Sabrina's like that to this day. With Oregon ranked No. I went to Stanford. You take that on: You want to prove to everyone that you belong. I gained a lot of experience playing on my brothers' 10-foot hoop. The Ducks administer a historic walloping, beating the Huskies 74-56 for their worst loss ever at Gampel. I just showed up. Graves: I didn't know who had her ear, quite frankly. Sabrina was around three years old when she first picked up a basketball. It allowed me to push her more than I could push any other player to be great. BROOKLYN, NY - JULY 23: Sabrina Ionescu #20 of the New York Liberty dribbles the ball during the game against the Chicago Sky on July 23, 2022 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Her first language . Case UpdateContinue, Stanley Wilson Jr Wife does not exist, as the player was single till his death. Be Unique. Dan, Sabrina's father:[The twins] always felt comfort with each other. Carlos Serrao for ESPN. We let Oregon down in some way, because we had such high expectations for ourselves. It was definitely tough. Seven years later, Ionescu and her twin brother, Eddy, were born. Sabrina makes an immediate impact, including 24 points and 12 rebounds in a 69-55 win against defending state champion Archbishop Mitty. Ionescu was born to Romanian-American parents in Walnut Creek, California. In March, the 31-2 Ducks are poised for a 1-seed and deep run in the NCAA tournament. Eddy: We competed in everything. And so I had to learn how to use the ball screens and all the frustration that comes with that. She recalled, "My middle school said I should be playing with dolls. Being able to grow up, have the same friends, play the same sports and do everything together is really fun. [3] Sabrina was around three years old when she first picked up a basketball. In the second round of the NCAA tournament, a 91-68 win against Indiana, Sabrina gets her first triple-double in a tournament game. No one spoke. Sabrina Ionescu's organic fame speaks to her character, skill - Yahoo! The well-known WNBA player Sabrina Ionescu's twin brother is Eddy Ionescu. He noted that attendance at Oregon women's games had dramatically increased during Ionescu's career at the school. 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. Regardless, if I had to be home for dinner at 8, we'd play 'til 9, until I would win, and then I'd be like, "All right, we can go home now.". So we were kind of just banking that it was gonna be her last year. Most Popular #24328. Sabrina Ionescu selected No. . Grasu is a former American football player and the Las Vegas Raiders. 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. He and Sabrina stay connected through the Bay Area community and its youth basketball scene. Sabrina Ionescu's brother Eddy Ionescu is an American professional basketball player for the New York Liberty. So I didn't post anything. She embarked on a historic career with the Ducks and eventually became the No. And so I was like, "All right, well this is my chance, I'm going to say something.". But we were all like, "OK, we got here, we know what we can do.". Is Sabrina Ionescu Gay? Partner Parents And Siblings However, that's quite a pull, you know? Just because I knew she tasted how close it was to winning that national championship. I played 1-on-1, collect the money, Slurpees. ', The mind, body and soul of the WWE's Charlotte Flair, Bam Adebayo is the fiercest, best NBA player you don't know. She was named Pac-12 Freshman of Week four times and was named USBWA National Player of the Week. Dan Ionescu and Liliana Blaj, her proud parents, welcomed her into the world. !#GoDucks . Sabrina: We would stay in the park for hours while our parents worked. It's Oregon's first triple-double since 1988. You know, post their top-fives in Instagram and Twitter and let everyone know. She was named the McDonald's All-America game MVP after scoring a record 25 points, including seven three-pointers, with 10 rebounds. 4 UConn, the school for which Gigi hoped to play. The WNBA draft order is released in September, and the New York Liberty draw the top pick. Ionescu won almost all the possible National Player of the Year awards, including the John R. Wooden Award, Associated Press College Basketball Player of the Year, USBWA National Player of the Year, Naismith College Player of the Year, ESPY for Top Female College Athlete and ESPN.com National Player of the Year. 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. 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. No statistics available for this season. She owns a record-setting 18 career triple-doubles - the most of any student-athlete in a single season and career. Sabrina: Growing up, I loved having role models and being able to look up to Steph and Kobe and players like that for inspiration. 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. Cinematography by Monica May; Movement Coaching by Duray Thirdgill; Prop Styling by Dan Jesperson; Production by Amy Ground; Hair & Makeup by Celena Rubin. Holly Andres for ESPN. She debuted for Oregon in November 2016, scoring 11 points in a win over Lamar. She is just driven differently. [28] This announcement came shortly after Ionescu accepted a place in a newly launched one-year master's degree program in brand creation in UO's School of Journalism and Communications. See All. And she usually delivers. [21][22] She was later named ESPNW Player of the Week. As Sabrina processes her grief, she dedicates her season and everything that comes next to Kobe. In her senior year, she led Miramonte to the CIF open division title game after averaging 25.3 points, 8.8 assists, 7.6 rebounds, 4.5 steals and 1.3 blocks per game. 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. And I was like, "I'm by the hotel here." His son and wife were unable to relocate to the United States until 1995. Everyone was so much faster and quicker. Hebard: I think it's just amazing to see what she accomplishes because she works so hard, and then, like, triple-doubles, that's such a big thing. The couple recently got engaged on January 20, 2023, and Ionescu even shared a photo from their engagement on her Instagram account. However, things did not go as per plan for Dan. In his redshirt junior season at Oregon in 2019-20, Eddy first appeared on Dec. 7, 2019 against Hawaii and had one assist. The Legend of Sabrina Ionescu - ESPN.com Sabrina Ionescu (@sabrina_i) Instagram photos and videos She wasn't ready for that yet. I thought it was, like, freshman duties or something. Sabrina: He believed in me, and he knew that this is kind of what happens your freshman year, you just figure out how you're supposed to play, what works, what doesn't work. On Feb. 3, with so many still in mourning, No. Id play H-O-R-S-E, collect the money, Slurpees. She received the 2019 John R. Wooden Award and both the 2018 and 2019 Nancy Lieberman Award. 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. I just know she doesn't like to lose, and that's, you know, it's her biggest strength, but it's also her biggest weakness. November 11, 2022 New York Liberty guard, Sabrina Ionescu rejoins her alma mater as the director of athletic culture. 707K followers. Ionescu also held the single-game scoring record of 43 points vs. Pinewood High School while being double- and triple-teamed and the single game record in assists with 19 at Dublin High School. Sabrina Ionescu and her father Dan Ionescu (Source: OregonLive) There is no related content available. [1] However, believing that she had "unfinished business" at Oregon, she chose to come back for her senior season. These are things that kids can acquire; they don't have to be born with those things. . Ionescu was born in Walnut Creek, California, to Romanian-American parents. Sabrina Ionescu has been in the spotlight since she was a teenager. Scoring 26 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds, she became the youngest player in WNBA history to record a triple double. Liberty's Sabrina Ionescu announces engagement to Raiders' Hroniss Grasu She completed her high school education in Miramonte, California, before attending the University of Oregon in Oregon. Eddy has since joined Oregons team. She played college basketball for the Oregon Ducks. Like his sister Sabrina, Edward plays basketball for the NCAA's Oregon Ducks. Eddy Ionescu - Men's Basketball - University of Oregon Athletics She fell short of another triple-double with 16 points, 12 assists and 9 rebounds in the game but recorded her 2,012 career points and 810 career assists. Sabrina: I love having a relationship with [Curry], just being able to remember when I was little, watching him and kind of emulating my game after him, to now being able to call him or text him any time that I need help with something. It's her 26th career triple-double, and she makes history as the first college basketball player to compile 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists. They were all riled up, and we got a steal, passed it to Sabrina, and she went up for a layup and the guy intentionally fouled her, just pushed her, two hands, in the back. 1 pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft taking place this Friday, April 17. What high school did Sabrina Ionescu go to? And he came, and his voice was shaking because I had like 10 minutes to decide and I hadn't decided. 1 pick in the 2020 draft. 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. She responded by recruiting enough girls to enable her school to have a team. It'd be pretty intense. We just started in a park, you know? 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. 1 by New York Liberty in WNBA draft, while Gianna Bryant is an honorary pick . In her second WNBA game on July 29 against the Dallas Wings, she recorded 33 points, 7 assists, and 7 rebounds in 34 minutes of play. With help from an Ionescu 3-pointer that puts them up by six with 1:12 left, the Ducks beat Mississippi State 88-84 in the Elite Eight to advance, at last, to the Final Four, where they play Baylor. 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. Sabrina: His mom came onto the court, and then they both got ejected. Whoever came walking up to the park, we're like, "All right, we'll pick on this guy." It was tough being there and it was tough having to play a top-five matchup right after that. She played college basketball for the Oregon Ducks. Sabrina Ionescu brother, Edward, is also a basketball player. She's going to play at that level. The Ducks had a lot of success with Ionescu too. And then we kind of just sat down and discussed what her next plan was. She needs to be playing on that kind of a stage. In a 2019 interview with Ava Wallace of The Washington Post, Ionescu admitted to being a "natural scorer", but said that most of the rest of her skill set came from playing alongside both boys and older girls in her childhood:[7].mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 40px}.mw-parser-output .templatequote .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0}. While we wait and wonder about what will be, we reflect on the moments and milestones that have already been. Eddy: One day when we were short I think we only had four guys warming up I asked my coach if it was all right to have my sister play with us. If they would see something scary, a dog or something, they would reach at each other's hands, not at our hands as parents. Seriously, word-for-word." Sabrina: Obviously that was tough. In recent years, basketball phenom Sabrina Ionescu has used her talent to lead the Oregon Ducks and become the face of women's college hoops. My family has always been there for inspiration to keep pushing and one day become a WNBA player.". She is also the Pac-12 Conference all-time leader in assists as well as the only NCAA Division I basketball player to record 2000 points, 1000 assists, and 1000 rebounds in her career. Hebard: She's always mad at herself if we lose, but I think we were all just bummed and upset and crying. She wants to win a national championship. Death Cause And Mental HealthContinue, Katrina Gorry Partner Clara Markstedt is a Swedish football player who competes for Vittsjo GIK. After starring for the Oregon Ducks womens college basketball team, Ionescu has since joined the New York Liberty. Emma Reed contributed to this report. Her two brothers were a big help in developing her basketball skills. Sabrina: I don't really think I grasped what it would be like. Now, almost a full year later, the 23-year-old New York Liberty superstar thinks she deserves a new rookie . So then I was like, "All right, we're going to Eugene.". Bryant narrates a Detail episode praising her physicality, court awareness and midrange game. In an interview with ESPN, the presumptive No. 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. Sabrina Ionescu makes NCAA history in win at Stanford | CNN After they went 23-14 in 2016-17, Oregon went 33-5 in 2017-18 and 2018-19. Geno Auriemma, UConn coach: When she was a freshman, we overwhelmed them. Sabrina was born in Walnut Creek, California, on December 6, 1997. [47] Ionescu had never before played under FIBA 3x3 rules, admitting after the tournament, "I had to ask the rules before the games started. Sabrina Ionescu- Professional Life, Career, Awards 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. Months go by. His sister, Sabrina, is a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) professional). If he won, we'd play again. On the morning of Jan. 26, 2020, the sports world stands still when news breaks that Kobe and Gigi Bryant are among the nine passengers killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. Eddy: It was always kind of on the basketball court when we fought. It motivates her to go back and practice more from learning from her mistakes. The great ones are like that. She has recorded 10-assist games 13 times this season, handing out a league season-high 14 twice. We'd do whatever we could in order to win something. Sopak: The car was packed and they didn't know which direction they were going. [23] Since that game on December 20, 2018, Ionescu has added five more triple-doubles for a season total of eight, and has broken the Oregon women's basketball assist record (formerly 608 assists) in a Pac-12 conference game against USC. 1 in the WNBA Draft a year later.. That was in May 2020, a time in which she sat atop the basketball world as the NCAA's . There weren't many girls' programs for her as she was growing up, but she found a way to continue to improve and pushed herself to be the best. Sabrina's ancestry is Romanian-Caucasian and has a twin brother, Edward. Your email address will not be published. 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. In the postgame interview, she calls out ESPN: "It probably still won't get recognized because ESPN never recognizes women's sports. [51] She was close with Kobe Bryant, with whom she had one-on-one training sessions, and spoke at the Kobe & Gianna Bryant Celebration of Life at the Staples Center on February 24, 2020. 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. [50], * 2020 NCAA tournament canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic, Ionescu is a Christian. Then you start to realize the incredible competitiveness that she has, the skill level that she has, the physical and mental toughness that she has. [45], On July 6, 2022, Ionescu had 31 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists to record the first 30-point triple-double in WNBA history.[46]. While everyone knows that Ionescu is a baller and can compete with the best of the best on the basketball court, some might not know that she actually has a twin brother who also plays basketball. Inhale, exhale. She then joined the City College of San Francisco but later transferred to the University of Oregon. Ionescu's friends and family were excited to congratulate the athlete. I did not cry. Sabrina Elaine Ionescu (born December 6, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). But my teammates were ready and I tried to do everything I could to be ready in order for us to win. [12] According to Ava Wallace of The Washington Post, Ionescu chose Oregon "because she wanted to be the all-American at Oregon, not just an all-American somewhere else."