Sabrina Ionescu, Kelly Graves win PAC-12 Player/Coach of the Year
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. The guard is the first player 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.
This is the first time Graves has been named the John R. Wooden Pac-12 Coach of the Year. 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.