Sabrina Ionescu Talks Second Youth Camp, College GameDay, Winning Gold With Team USA
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To this day, you can still walk around the University of Oregon campus and spot green and yellow No. 20 jerseys. This weekend, you'll see even more around town.
Sabrina Ionescu, fresh off an All-Star campaign in the WNBA and a gold medal with Team USA at the FIBA World Cup in Australia, will return to Eugene for her second youth basketball camp.
In an interview with Ducks Digest, she discussed the fall camp, which will feature two three-hour sessions with hundreds of grade school kids. This will be her second camp at the Kidsports Fieldhouse in Eugene, following her first in March that sold out within 24 hours of being announced.
READ MORE: Sabrina Ionescu Giving Back to Eugene Community With First Youth Basketball Camp
"The plan is to be able to do it every offseason, and this was a great time around the football game and kids still in school," Ionescu said of her second event. "Hopefully, the goal will be to continue to grow it and be able to have more and more kids."
The NCAA's all-time leader in triple doubles will assemble stations and drills designed to teach students ball-handling, shooting, and passing. There will also be scrimmages, with Ionescu and other staffers on hand to coach the kids.
"The goal of the camp is to be able to provide the opportunity for kids to come out and learn and just be surrounded by a lot of other kids, friends, classmates, and just be in a safe and really fun environment," Ionescu said. "We're going to make sure that it's the best experience."
The first camp served the Kidsports Emerald Scholarship Fund, which supports underprivileged kids by paying the necessary fees to play sports. This year, Ionescu's camp will support the foundation of a fellow Oregon legend.
"This year, we also partnered with Marcus Mariota's Motiv8 Foundation," she said. "They were able to sponsor 30 kids to come to the camp through their foundation.
"Continuing to find ways to partner with people that want to do great things in the Eugene community and give back is super important to me."
Before Ionescu laces it up on the court on Sunday, she will brush shoulders with the likes of Lee Corso, Desmond Howard, and Pat McAfee on the "College GameDay" set Saturday morning on the UO campus ahead of the Ducks' clash with No. 9 UCLA.
Ionescu is the first WNBA player to ever be the celebrity guest picker on the show.
"I'm just excited to get back to Eugene and be able to experience "College GameDay" because I wasn't able to do it when I was a student athlete there," she said. "I'm excited to be around a great atmosphere and all the students and to have the honor to partake in that and represent the University of Oregon."
The super-competitive Ionescu said her goal is to top the show's celebrity standings, which is led by Dolphins defensive tackle Christian Wilkins with nine wins and two losses.
READ MORE: Oregon Recruiting Visitor List vs. UCLA
"I'm really just gonna have fun with it, but I'm definitely going to try to stack more wins than losses on my spread."
If that wasn't an exciting enough weekend for Ionescu, she will also be celebrating the launch of her player exclusive sneaker, the Nike Air Zoom G.T. Cut 2, on Saturday exclusively in North America.
"It's been a long time coming," she said of the sneaker. "I was able to design the colorway, so I'm really excited for that to be out."
The choice for the guest picker to represent the Ducks on "College GameDay" was an easy one not just because of Ionescu's record-setting career in Eugene, but she's also become a star in the WNBA with the New York Liberty.
Ionescu earned her first All-Star and All-WNBA nods in her third year, and she finished eighth in the MVP voting. After two seasons where she either missed extensive time due to injury or she wasn't fully healthy, she was proud to return to the court injury-free.
"I played in every single game, and that was really important and a big goal for me coming from the past year where I was injured," said Ionescu, who attributed her growth this year to her return to full health.
Following the season, Ionescu represented Team USA on the national stage in Sydney, Australia at the FIBA World Cup, where they cruised to a gold medal.
"It's always an honor representing USA and being able to compete for a gold medal," Ionescu said. "I'm super honored and blessed to have won and to have my family there."
It's been a successful year for Ionescu, but if you've ever watched her on the court, you know she's far from satisfied and is hungry for more in year four.
"Continued success and health is really what I'm praying for and working for this offseason," she told Ducks Digest. "I want to continue to get better in all categories, just continue to be really efficient, and achieving a lot more individually and as a team."
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