Sabrina Ionescu is back in the spotlight, this time in a different uniform and a very different setting. The New York Liberty guard is featured in an Amazon Prime special, “The Undercovers,” a project presented by former New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning.
The special catches Ionescu doing something Oregon fans probably never expected to see: she went undercover as a Duck fan at an Oregon basketball game this past November. She showed up dressed like a supporter and stunned the people in the arena when they realized who it was, including current Oregon coach Kelly Graves, who recruited her. The full 33-minute video is now streaming on Prime.
Ionescu’s connection to Oregon runs deep. She played for the Ducks from 2016-2020 and left as the program’s all-time leader in points and assists. Over four seasons in Eugene, she averaged 18.0 points, 7.7 assists and 7.3 rebounds per game.
Her impact at Oregon was immediate. As a freshman, she earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Year honors and helped push the Ducks to the Elite Eight. Oregon reached the Elite Eight again in her sophomore season, and Ionescu added Pac-12 Player of the Year to her growing list of accolades.
The breakthrough came in 2018-19, when the Ducks finally got past that hurdle and reached the Final Four for the first time in program history. Oregon fell to the Baylor Bears there, but Ionescu’s junior year only added to her reputation as one of the best players in the country.
Her senior season was shaping up to be Oregon’s best shot yet at a national title. The Ducks were projected to be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament before the event was canceled because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
By the time she entered the 2020 WNBA Draft, Ionescu had built a rare college résumé: two Wooden Awards, one Naismith College Player of the Year honor, three unanimous first-team All-American selections, three Pac-12 Player of the Year awards and the NCAA’s all-time triple-double record.
The Liberty took her No. 1 overall, and she has delivered at the pro level too. Ionescu has won a WNBA Championship with New York in 2024, has been a four-time WNBA All-Star and has made the All-WNBA Second Team four times.
Oregon hasn’t been back to Final Four territory since she left, but the Ducks have still reached the NCAA Tournament four times, won four tournament games and made the Sweet 16 in 2021. During her time in Eugene, Ionescu was the kind of star who packed Mathew Knight Arena nearly every night - and now she’s giving fans another look at that Oregon legacy from a new angle.
In Other News...
Dan Lanning Faces A Huge 2027 Recruiting Moment For Oregon
A major 2027 recruiting checkpoint is coming into focus for Oregon, and it centers on Tae Walden Jr., one of the more versatile prospects in the cycle. The Collierville High School standout has built his profile by contributing on both sides of the ball, lining up at wide receiver and cornerback while backing up the ranking that has him among the nations top athletes.
Walden is nearing a decision with a group that includes Auburn, Georgia, LSU, Oregon and Ole Miss, and the Ducks remain firmly in the mix as they try to keep building momentum with Dan Lannings defensive board. For Oregon, the appeal is obvious: a player with two-way experience and the athletic profile to fit in more than one place, even as the final call still hangs in the air. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Is Making Oregon Sweat On Another Blue-Chip Recruiting Battle
Texas has already shown it can make life difficult for Oregon on the 2027 trail, and the latest battlegrounds are once again elite national recruits. Five-star offensive lineman Ismael Camara and four-star running back Landen Williams-Callis both have drawn serious attention from the Longhorns, with Oregon still in the mix as the Ducks continue to chase blue-chip talent at the top of the class.
Williams-Callis has Texas and Oregon among his top-10 schools, and Texas has been making a strong push as the race narrows around the highly regarded back. Oregon is not exactly thin at the position, either, with a current 2027 commitment in CaDarius McMiller and more help already on the way, which could shape how aggressively the Ducks keep pressing if this one trends elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]