I'm sorry, but to mention possible "sour grapes" (even in sentence that ends with a two question marks), and then to imply that SI does not, like UConn stars, "put TEAM first," seems to me extremely unfair. None of us--as far as I can tell--knows Ionescu. I can say that I have watched her play for 9 games now; another poster apparently watched her play when she was in high school. And the player that both of us have watched seems to be the antithesis of a "me first" player. At Oregon she plays only about 26 minutes a game, and averages about 14 points, 7 rebounds, and nearly 6 assists on a team that distributes minutes among a lot of players (typically 12 at least) and shares the ball in a fashion not unlike UConn (the overall assist average is 19.8 assists/game; Ionescu's assist/turnover ratio is 2.68). As for scoring: Ionescu has been the leader for 3 games, Bando for 3, and Hebard (another freshman) for 3.
Would she have been challenged at a much higher level had she come to UConn? Of course. Would she likely have developed her talents more fully? Probably. But to speculate about possible sour grapes, etc., when none of us is really privy to her thoughts and emotions during the recruiting process seems to me something best not done, or at least left unsaid. And however one reads Ionescu's statements or the various accounts of her recruiting, the player I see on the court displays the kind of hard work, intensity, and commitment to team that we see every year at UConn.
