Ionescu itching to make Brooklyn debut

Liberty star to take Barclays Center court for May 14 opener

April 29, 2021 John Torenli, Sports Editor

Out since last July 31, Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu can't wait to get her first taste of Downtown Brooklyn next month. AP Photo by Phelan M. Ebenhack

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When you’ve waited nine long months, what’s another couple of weeks?

Don’t bother asking New York Liberty point guard Sabrina Ionescu that question because she can’t wait.

Ionescu, who had her much-anticipated rookie season cut short by a Grade 3 sprain of her left ankle in only her third WNBA game last summer, is back to full health and raring to go as the Liberty embark on their 25th anniversary season and first full year here in the heart of Downtown Brooklyn on May 14.

“I’m just excited to finally be in Brooklyn, hopefully have fans in attendance and play in front of our community here,” Ionescu said in a zoom meeting earlier this month as the Liberty continued preparing for what they hope will be a breakthrough campaign for the franchise and its budding superstar.

Out since last July 31, Ionescu revealed that she spent her extended offseason going through a challenging rehab process, made all the more difficult by COVID-19 restrictions, and honing her game for what she feels will be her true rookie campaign.

Instead of playing at the WNBA’s bubble site in Bradenton, Florida, where the Liberty finished a league-worst 2-20 last summer, Ionescu and her teammates will be back at Barclays Center, where they were supposed to move in last year before the coronavirus wreaked havoc across the globe.

“I think this year I definitely feel like a rookie coming in here not knowing where I’m staying, not knowing how to get to the arena, not knowing anything,” she told ESPN.

She seemed to know enough to get by during her brief initial foray into what she likes to call the best women’s professional league in the world.

Ionescu struggled in her debut, managing 12 points on 4-of-17 shooting against the defending champion Seattle Storm on July 25.

Four days later, she flashed the form that made her a two-time Wooden Award winner as the best player in the nation at Oregon and the first overall pick in the 2020 Draft.

Ionescu lit up Dallas for 33 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, only to see her progress derailed by the ankle injury in the ensuing game vs. Atlanta.

Fortunately, she’ll get to run it back in 2021 right here where Liberty owner Joe Tsai’s other team, the Brooklyn Nets, is chasing its first-ever NBA title.

The Liberty will host Indiana at Barclays in their second straight WNBA season opener.

But more importantly, it will be the beginning of the franchise’s Brooklyn era, and will likely feature at least a percentage of the arena’s seats filled with our borough’s faithful hoops fanatics.

New York Liberty point guard Sabrina Ionescu and her teammates will kick off the WNBA season on May 14 vs. Indiana at Barclays Center. AP Photo by Phelan M. Ebenhack

Though she is established as the Liberty’s biggest star, Ionescu won’t be alone in leading this franchise back to relevance as a playoff contender.

New York picked up guard Sami Whitcomb and forwards Natasha Howard and Betnijah Laney, the league’s most improved player last season, this past offseason.

They also selected UCLA standout Michaela Onyenwere and Baylor’s DiDi Richards in this year’s draft, futher bolstering a roster that will be led by head coach Walt Hopkins for the second straight season.

The new faces, new WNBA year and new venue have Ionescu itching to hit the hardwood.

“I don’t think there’s really a ceiling for what we can accomplish,” Ionescu said.

“I know talking to (my teammates), they’re very excited and I think it says a lot about who they are as people and competitors because we did finish last. … So it’s really exciting to have them on board and want to go to war with us, with one another, and see what we can do here in Brooklyn.”

UCLA’s Michaela Onyenwere was selected sixth overall by Brooklyn’s New York Liberty on April 15. AP Photo by Tony Avelar

GIVE ME LIBERTY: The Liberty announced earlier this week that Jacki Gemelos has been added as an assistant to Hopkins’ coaching staff, joining Shelley Patterson and Dustin Gray. “We couldn’t be more excited for Jacki to join us in Brooklyn for our inaugural season at Barclays Center,” said Hopkins. “In addition to being a wonderful person with extensive playing experience and a high basketball IQ, Jacki’s perseverance in the face of countless setbacks throughout her career makes her a perfect model of the growth-minded, relentless, mentally tough ideals upon which our Liberty culture is being built. We’re lucky to have her with us.” … After hosting Indiana in the opener, the Liberty will take on the Fever in the Hoosier state on Sunday, May 16.