Sabrina Ionescu Mania Arrives in New York as She Headlines an Impressive Liberty Draft Class
New York is already getting a taste of Sabrina mania.
Oregon superstar Sabrina Ionescu was drafted #1 overall by the NY Liberty Friday night. New York selecting her at the top of the draft was seen as a lock by many for months. Before, the night was over Ionescu's seafoam Liberty jersey was already sold out online. The Liberty's Instagram page also felt the Sabrina effect. According to Social Blade on Friday their account had 40,627 followers, by Saturday afternoon it had 45,137.
This is just the beginning of Sarina mania. Once Sabrina Ionescu gets to play in New York, arguably the basketball capital of the world, it is going to be on a whole other level. Ionescu doesn't just have "it", she has it all, the stats, the triple-doubles, the records, the swag, and the mindset. The city of New York and her are a perfect match.
On the court, Ionescu is a triple-double machine. She averaged 19.6 points, 8.2 assists, and 7.4 rebounds per game last season. She is a playmaker, she doesn't just score she is also excellent at setting up her teammates. Ionescu's game should transition well into New York's system.
"Walt (Liberty Head Coach Walt Hopkins) runs a great offense, and the pick-and-roll is something that I’m familiar with. Being able to enter an offense where it’s really similar to what I’ve been playing with the last four years is exciting, " Ionescu said of the Liberty offense.
In his introductory press conference this January, Walt Hopkins emphasized how the team would be shooting more 3's. With the 9th overall pick, the Liberty selected a player who excels in that area, Megan Walker. Walker, a forward from UConn shot 45% from beyond the arc last season. She averaged 19.7 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.
"We both knew what I brought to the Liberty, they thought I would fit right in so, they said they were going to do their best to make some moves and to see what they could do at the draft to get me and just so happened, it worked out," Walker said in a phone press conference after being selected.
With the 10th overall pick in the draft, the Phoniex Mercury selected Jocelyn Willoughby, but the Liberty traded Shatori Walker-Kimbrough to Phoniex to acquire her. Willoughby is a guard/forward from Virginia who averaged 19.2 points and 7.7 rebounds per game last season. She will also be playing pretty close to home as she is a New Jersey native.
"Having players who are very passionate and committed players, and I think that’s something that resonates with being a hard worker and a passionate player myself," Willoughby said of the New York squad. Coach Walt Hopkins spoke about having a roster full of team-oriented and high character players in his introductory press conference as well.
With the 12th and 13th overall picks, the Liberty selected Lousiville players back to back. Guard Jazmine Jones went 12th overall to end the first round, while her teammate, forward Kylee Shook, went 13th overall to kick off the second round. Soon after with the 15th overall pick the Liberty drafted, Leaonna Odom a forward from Duke.
With the 26th overall pick, New York selected Erica Ogwumike. Ogwumike was then traded to the Minnesota Lynx for forward Stephanie Talbot.
After the draft, it is clear the New York Liberty are all in on a rebuild. They have three top 10 picks from this draft on their roster. We also now know they are all in on playing small ball. This team is going to stretch the floor, and light it up from beyond the arc.
Sabrina Ionescu headlined this draft for the Liberty, but the chemistry she develops with fellow rookies Megan Walker and Jocelyn Willoughby could be what turns this Liberty team back to a championship contender.
