Video: Sabrina Ionescu high school highlights
Watch the Oregon All-American at Miramonte.
The high school legend of
Sabrina Ionescu has now risen to the college ranks. And after Monday's spectacular dual performance in Los Angeles and Palo Alto — all while fighting back the flu — it's hard to imagine her star power could rise much more.
Her high school coach Kelly Sopak said it most certainly will.
Sopak not only coached Ionescu through a brilliant prep career at
Miramonte (Orinda, Calif.), which culminated with the 2015-16 MaxPreps National Girls Basketball Player of the Year award and McDonald's All-American Game Most Valuable Player trophy, but he also guided her as far back as a third-grade CYO player.
Even Sopak was taken aback by his former player Monday. She delivered a moving 7-minute, 35-minute eulogy of her good friend Kobe Bryant at the Staples Center in the morning before a quick plane flight to the Bay Area where Oregon was set to take on fourth-ranked Stanford. In the game, she added to her NCAA record with a 26th triple-double with 21 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists, leading the No. 3 Ducks to a 74-66 win over the Cardinal.
During the third quarter, she collected her 1,000th career college rebound to become the first player of either gender in NCAA Division I history to amass 2,000 points, 1,000 assists and 1,000 rebounds in a career.
"I am not the least bit surprised," Sopak said Tuesday of her accomplishments. "But then again, I knew Sabrina so well. Not everyone was privy to her amazing mind, tireless work ethic and relentless pursuit of being great.
"I fully expect this to continue at the next level. I'm just excited to be able to watch her play."
He got view up close during her four-year run at Miramonte where she led the Matadors to a 119-9 record, finishing with a 32-1 campaign. Her senior season, she averaged 28.5 points, 9.7 assists, 8.3 rebounds and 5.5 steals per game, highlighted with a third straight North Coast Section and Northern California championship win.
After the third straight NCS title game, 82-67 over Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland) at St. Mary's College, Miramonte's student body put her on their shoulders.
Said Sopak at the time: "I have coached Sabrina for so long, I almost forget how good she really is. But I have had major college coaches tell me that when she plays the game it looks as if she is playing chess and everyone else is playing checkers."
Even back then, Sopak, who coached her on a 59-1 AAU team that won a national title, said: "Sabrina is a rock star wherever she goes. Not just local kids, everywhere we've played — Hawaii, Wyoming, Arizona, Oregon. ... I'm going to miss the fans seeking their picture with her. I'm going to miss coaching someone who allows me to coach them. And I might just miss having the best player on the court every night."
Sabrina Ionesco, Miramonte
File photo by Greg Jungferman
He's watched her closely throughout her career, but said he was never more proud than watching her deliver Monday's powerful eulogy of Bryant, whom she befriended a year before his death, before more than 20,000 fans at Staples and a worldwide audience.
She spoke in front the greatest names in basketball today and before legendary players Michael Jordan and Shaquille O'Neal.
"Growing up, I only knew one way to play the game of basketball — fierce, with obsessive focus," Ionescu eulogized. "I was unapologetically competitive. I wanted to be the best. ... I grew up watching Kobe game after game, ring after ring, living his greatness without apology."
She spoke of her friendship with Kobe and how they connected and how he could and would change and grow the women's game of basketball.
"His vision for others is always greater than what they imagine for themselves," Ionescu said. "His vision for me was way bigger than my own. More importantly, he didn't just show up in my world and leave. He stayed.
"I miss you. May you rest in peace, my good friend."
Immediately after she concluded her eulogy, Sopak tweeted: "Better and more eloquent than any triple double. Truly an inspiration for all."
On Tuesday, he told us this: "I could not be more proud of her for not only how she has performed on the court but how she has carried herself off the court. She is truly an inspiration for young players, fans and coaches all over the country."
