Junior Sabrina Ionescu was named Pac-12 player of the year and head coach Kelly Graves was selected Pac-12 Coach of the Year, the conference announced on Tuesday evening during its awards show. Ionescu earned the honor for the second straight season, becoming the seventh player in Pac-12 history to be named player of the year in back-to-back seasons. She joins Jennifer Azzi (1989, 1990), Val Whiting (1992, 1993), Tanja Kostic (1995, 1996), Kate Starbird (1996, 1997), Candice Wiggins (2005, 2006) and Chiney Ogwumike (2012, 2013). Ionescu is the first in Oregon history to be named Pac-12 player of the year twice. Ionescu is averaging 19.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 8.1 assists per game. She’s the only player in the top-12 of the Pac-12 in all three categories. Her 8.1 assists leads the league and she’s second in the conference in three-point percentage (44.4) and free throw percentage (87.4). She’s the only player in the NCAA averaging 15+ points, 7+ rebounds and 7+ assists per game. She’s only the fifth player in Pac-12 history to reach 700 career assists. Ionescu snapped the Pac-12 and UO single-game free throw percentage records when she went 17-of-17 at the line against Mississippi State. She also broke the UO single-game assists record with 17 against Long Beach State. Ionescu owns the NCAA single-season record with seven triple-doubles this year and her 17 total triple-doubles has added to her NCAA career record. She currently sits on every national player of the year watch list – the Wade Trophy, Naismith Trophy and John R. Wooden Award. She’s also in the running for the Nancy Lieberman Award, presented to the nation’s top point guard, an honor she won last season, and the Dawn Staley Award, given to the best overall guard in the country. This is the first time Graves has been named the John Wooden Pac-12 Coach of the Year. He was named the WCC coach of the year eight times while the head coach at Gonzaga. He is the second UO coach to earn the award, after Jody Runge won in 1994 and 1999. Graves has led the Ducks to back-to-back Pac-12 regular season championships, going 16-2 in league play both times. He’s won a regular season conference title in 12 of the last 15 years. Oregon is 60-8 over the last two seasons, including a 32-2 home record. Graves and the Ducks won the program’s first ever Pac-12 Tournament title last year and are the No. 1 seed for a second straight year this season. The Pac-12 Tournament begins Thursday in Las Vegas.
