Sabrina Ionescu, the nation’s top uncommitted player, drove to Eugene on Sunday and signed the required paperwork to become a part of the Oregon women’s basketball program.
She’s the highest-ranked recruit in program history and becomes the seventh member of the incoming 2016 recruiting class. The Walnut Creek, California, native averaged 25.3 points, 8.8 assists, 7.6 rebounds and 4.5 steals while leading Miramonte High School to the CIF State Championship game.
Here’s more reaction from Sunday afternoon:
Sabrina Ionescu
How did (head coach) Kelly Graves react?
“He was really happy. He was in complete shock. I think it was kind of fun surprising everyone and seeing their reactions.”
Did the incoming recruiting class play into your decision?
“Definitely. It’s who you play with that kind of builds who you are as a team and who your teammates are for the next three to four years. They’re a great group of girls. They always made me feel like family.”
What’s your relationship with (associate head coach) Mark Campbell like?
“Our relationship is pretty strong. He’s recruited me since the seventh grade. It definitely helps seeing the familiar face in the crowd at tournaments and knowing you have a strong relationship with a coach for the next four years. I was fond of that.”
Is there anything else to add?
“My club coach Kelly Sopak really helped me. Having him definitely helped me throughout the entire process. He helped me understand myself and the other schools. He guided me and helped me through that. He helped me grow throughout the process. I can’t thank him enough for all he’s done and all that he will continue to do for me.
Thanks to my family for believing in me and supporting me. To my coach, my teammates, my friends and all the other colleges that recruited me.”
Oregon head coach Kelly Graves
What’s going through your head?
“It’s such an amazing class. It validates a lot of hard work by my staff. I have to give them a lot of credit. They did phenomenal on this. It just caps off what’s been a really nice weekend welcoming all of our freshmen. The other six came in this weekend. It was so neat to see them, to hug them. They did all their academic stuff today. This was a special time. … She’s a special player, no doubt. I think she will be the glue that will make this an incredible basketball team with certainly an incredible freshman class.”
What’s it been like to have been in the mix for such a highly coveted recruit?
“It’s been a journey that we’ve been working with, including the staff. … We have been really working on this for a while, in terms of following her. I knew of her, but didn’t start recruiting her until I got onboard here. It wasn’t a month after we were here, that Sabrina, Mallory [McGwire] and her club team came to our spring football game for a tournament. That’s when I first met them. I think it’s grown from there. I think we’ve built a really great relationship. It’s been fun to get to know her. … To see her finally commit to us. It was really special. It was a great day.”
Oregon associate head coach Mark Campbell
What was it like when she committed?
“She’s the last piece of the 2016 class that we hoped to sign two years ago. That’s really what it is. It’s the blend of size, of length, of strength, of guards and wings. Two years ago, this was a vision that we had when we took the jobs. Our staff heavily invested in this class and it all came together.”
You’ve developed a great basketball coaching career, this must rank pretty high for you.
“It’s just neat, man. It’s two years in the making. The day before summer school.”
What’s the phrase your staff uses?
“A vision so powerful it has to become reality.”
Dan Ionescu, Sabrina’s father
What does this moment mean to your family to have a school picked?
“It was a big moment of relief because we got a closure to this recruiting process. It’s been long. We’re so happy for her. Whatever she decided to do, we were behind her. It was relief and joy for the entire family.”
How do you think she grew through this process?
“She learned a lot. … She learned about the programs and people. She learned how to handle pressure and situations. I don’t think she would do it any other way. If she had to do it again, she would probably do it the same way.”
What was yesterday like?
“We packed it all up and started driving. She didn’t tell me until we got into the car and she didn’t tell the staff until later that she was headed up. … She definitely wanted it something very low key. She wasn’t comfortable with a lot of attention and spotlight.”
Anything else I’m missing?

“You get asked all the questions about where she was going. People didn’t really believe me that I did not know. They thought I was hiding it. The reality was, nobody knew exactly what her decision was going to be. We were talking about it for so long that at one point, we just said, ‘Let’s let it go.’ We stopped talking about it for like months. We did not want her to feel the pressure of everyone, including her family, talking about the recruiting process.”
Follow Jonathan Hawthorne on Twitter @Jon_Hawthorne