Oregon’s two 2017 signees are ranked as top 10 international recruits.
ProspectsNation.com, one of a few websites which evaluates women’s basketball recruits, released its 2017 international rankings on Wednesday.
Satou Sabally (Germany) is ranked No. 1 while Aina Ayuso (Spain) is No. 7.
The rankings confirm what the staff had already seen on the recruiting trail.
“We knew they were special players, but anytime they get recognition like this, it’s great,” Graves said Wednesday. “It’s great for them. It’s great for our program.”
The two signed earlier this month. Graves called Sabally “one of the most gifted and athletic basketball players in the world,” so the ranking wasn’t too much of a surprise.
“Satou is a very unique combination of size with guard skills,” associate head coach Mark Campbell said Wednesday. “There’s not many 6-4 guards that are out there. She has the ability to play in pick and rolls and can defend all five positions on the court. … I think that’s what makes her such a unique prospect.”
Graves said he will send each player a congratulatory note. The team wasn’t immediately able to share the news with Sabally because of the time difference between the United States and Germany.
When Sabally committed, she credited her “close relationship” with Campbell as an important piece of the puzzle. Campbell said he was excited to hear the news.
“It’s one of those things that our staff was has always recognized in seeing her but you didn’t knew if other people had figured that out,” Campbell said. “It was a validation that other people saw what we saw a long time ago.”
Ayuso represented Spain in the 2016 FIBA U17 World Championships, posting a team-high average of 9.7 points per game.
Graves called Ayuso a cerebral and competitive when she signed earlier this month.
ProspectsNation.com ranked current UO point guard Maite Cazorla, who made the Pac-12’s all-freshman team last year, No. 7 in 2015.
Sabrina Ionescu was ranked as the top guard in the 2016 class by espnW HoopGurlz before she enrolled at Oregon.
Follow Jonathan Hawthorne on Twitter @Jon_Hawthorne