Round Up: Sabrina is the Best Baller in Brooklyn
In which we talk about College World Series('), Sabrina's Rookie of the Year odds, and TG4's love affair with Pro Football Focus.
First things, first, it feels like more of you could be checking out the Save Mac Court shirt link, so I’ve left it here for your convenience once again:
Roughly $16 to get an underground tie dye Oregon tee, with a message we can all get behind.
And just in case you’re wondering why exactly McArthur Court needs savings, here’s one of the multiple pieces of written on the subject.
Why does U of O hate Mac Court?
Now, for the Round Up.
Ducks Diamond Dominance
In case you hadn’t heard yet, we’re a Diamond Sport School now.
Oregon Baseball is ranked 13th nationally, and are coming off a series win over USC. We’ve also already secured the season series over Oregon State. Mark that under “Things You Love to See.”
And the good news gets even better over at The Jane, as per usual.
Softball just “slid” to sixth in country after dropping a series to fourth-ranked Washington, but there’s there still a month left in the season for them to keep padding their incredible resume, and hopefully win their way into hosting a Super Regional, and then on to Oklahoma.
Softball tourney selections are May 16th, and Baseball is May 31st. Lot’s of ball yet to be played, but both programs being in the Top 15 going into the last month of the season is a huge mark of improvement from where either of them were back in 2018/2019.
Sabrina Ionescu’s “Rookie” Season
2020 was a tough year for our GOAT, Sabrina Ionescu.
She lost here greatest basketball mentor and friend, Kobe Bryant; saw a pandemic steal away her hard-fought chance to win an NCAA title; and then—just as things began to look up—she lost her rookie season to a gnarly ankle injury.
But now, just like the rest of us, she’s poised to make 2021 all her own, and take new cities by storm.
She was quoted just this week essentially saying that the Wubble and her injury made for a pretty lackluster “Rookie” campaign. She said that this year will be her true first season in The League, as far as she’s concerned.
And that makes perfect sense. Getting to play at full strength, inside Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, in front of some number of fans eventually, makes for a pretty sweet convergence of circumstances for a comeback.
Personally, I think there should be some kind of Ben Simmons/MLB-type rule that allows Sabrina to be reconsidered for the Rookie of the Year award—given that she only played three games in 2020 (and averaged an ungodly 18.3, despite getting injured at halftime of her third and final game).
As far as I’m concerned, this is Sabrina’s Rookie Year.
And with newly drafted wings, Michaela Onyenwere and DiDi Richards, the Liberty are a frontcourt short of actually giving Sab a team she can win with.
Of course, Layshia Clarendon and Asia Durr will be huge in letting the GOAT renew her old pure scorer ways. But unless any WNBA team has an answer for Breanna Stewart, a legit title chase seems like an uphill battle for a franchise that keeps getting top five draft picks.
Draft Stock Talk
Penei Sewell is the unquestioned leading OT in the 2021 Draft, and is poised to be a top ten pick—like many Duck greats before him.
Joe Burrow released a photo of himself with a gnarly knee surgery scar, and I think that photo convinced almost every doubtful Bengals fan into drafting Sewell:
That scar tells a story. And that story is: “Get me an O-Line.”
But if for some reason Cincy plays themselves and passes on Penei, then a dream reunion with Herbert is apparently very much in the cards. But even though it makes me damn excited, I think the nightmare scenario of the top offensive tackle dropping all the way to 13th overall is pretty farfetched.
My advice: expect Penei to go at number five to Cincinnati next Thursday, and don’t worry about your dreams until if or when he makes it past that point.
When it comes to the draft prospects of every other Duck, it’s all about the D-Boyz.
TG4 and Deommodore have been hovering around PFF’s hype boards/tweets lately—much like they have throughout their careers. The latest hype tweet featured a stat that said Graham and Lenoir were at the top of available DBs in career forced incompletions, with 37 & 36, respectively.
Graham’s status at the top is made all the more impressive given that he didn’t get the extra seven games that Dede Two-Picks played in 2020.
All the hype aside, I would predict that the next Duck taken after Penei will be HollywoodVon, Jevon Holland. Sitting at 57th on the Ringer’s Big Board, the best case scenario for Von might be late second round, but realistically he might find himself in the early third. Holland is probably the most versatile of the three top D-Boyz, and he’s probably the second most League-ready Duck available this year.
Penei-Von-TG4-Dede-Faoliu*-Jordon*, in that order.
*Hoping Day 3 could be good days for both these guys. Fingers crossed.
Pickett and Kampmoyer have the fitness and toughness to look for an undrafted free agent signing, and then bust their asses in Training Camp. I swear to God if Hard Knocks makes me watch either of those guys get cut this sumer, I’m going to LOSE IT.
And I have no clue where Brady Breeze ends up. Not sure it’s worth predicting. Your guess is as good as mine.
Go Ducks.