Sabrina Ionescu Joins Oregon Ducks In Part-Time Role

New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu rejoins her alma mater as the director of athletic culture, the program announced Friday.

Ionescu’s role includes assisting with the development of student-athletes and cultivating head coach Kelly Graves’ five pillars of Oregon women’s basketball: passion, integrity, unity, thankfulness and servanthood.

“Sabrina exemplifies what it means to be an Oregon Duck and she represents everything our program is about. Even in just a part-time capacity, she will have the ability to make an immediate impact on our student-athletes and our program as a whole,” Graves said in the press release. “She truly is a basketball icon that will be able to connect and develop our players off the court.”

Ionescu completed her third season in the WNBA and was named a WNBA All-Star starter for the summer event hosted by the Chicago Sky in July. She won the WNBA Skills Competition held the afternoon before.

“As a kid growing up in the game, my family helped me develop my passion for basketball and all the values it rewards, ” Ionescu said in the release. “When I arrived at Oregon, I joined a new family that embraced those same values and helped me grow even more as a player and as a person. Part of my heart remains in Eugene, and I look forward to cultivating the same family atmosphere for future Ducks in the Oregon women’s basketball program.”

This will mark her third WNBA offseason spent in the United States, as opposed to heading overseas as many professional women’s basketball players do. Ionescu’s first two offseasons were primarily spent recovering from injuries.

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“I’m super excited to have a healthy offseason and just be able to train. I don’t think I really realized how much that is a perk and how being able to train, play 5v5, just be a part of that healthy athlete mindset going into the season,” Ionescu told the media during the New York Liberty exit interviews on August 25.

Being back in Eugene provides Ionescu, potentially, with a place to train in addition to a way to supplement her WNBA salary. While a student-athlete at Oregon, Ionescu was a two-time Wade and Wooden Trophy winner, and is the all-time NCAA leader in triple-doubles (26). She is also the only player in NCAA history with at least 2,000 career points, 1,000 career rebounds and 1,000 career assists.

Ionescu recently returned to campus for College Gameday where she was tapped as the Week 8 guest picker. She also showed off her personality and singing abilities in the process. The Oregon Ducks are 2-0 on the young NCAA season. They will host Seattle University tomorrow at 11:00 am PT.