Tag: ProDucks

Sabrina Ionescu says Oregon’s win over Ohio State motivated WNBA Finals Game 2 performance

Sabrina Ionescu used the Oregon football’s win over Ohio State for motivation in her finals series against the Minnesota Lynx.

An athlete like Sabrina Ionescu doesn’t need a lot of motivation to excel at her sport, especially since her New York Liberty are in the WNBA finals.

But watching her favorite college football team, the Oregon Ducks, win a big game like they did on Saturday, didn’t hurt either.

After the Liberty tied the series 1-1 with the Minnesota Lynx on Sunday — a game where Ionescu scored 15 points and five assists in the 80-66 win — she was asked about the Ducks’ win over Ohio State.

“After they won with the way they did, today I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m going to wear my Oregon shoes’,” she said. “I wanted to embody that tough, gritty win that they pulled off. A lot things didn’t go right for them and they continued to kind of fight and stay together and grind out a really big win and I was, ‘all right and I wanted to bring that energy with me today on the court.'”

Ionescu and the Liberty now travel to Minnesota for Game 3 of the series where they’ll try to take control and get one step closer for their first WNBA championship.

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Bo Nix makes history as Denver Broncos first rookie team captain in 57 years

Bo Nix was named Denver Broncos team captain as a rookie quarterback after a very successful preseason.

People at Oregon quickly found out that quarterback Bo Nix’s football IQ was off the charts.

The Denver Broncos are now finding this out as well.

So much so, the Broncos have named Nix as a team captain as a rookie before the team begins the season with a road game at Seattle. He becomes the first Broncos rookie to be named team captain since the honor was given to Floyd Little back in 1967.

Nix was drafted 12 overall in the first round and after a successful preseason, he was named the starting quarterback. This is just the first of many “firsts” for Nix this 2024 NFL season.

https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1831358350665347116

After a strong pair of preseason games, Nix was quickly named the starting quarterback for the Broncos. He will see his NFL debut this coming Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks.

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Sabrina Ionescu knocks down wild shot in Liberty win over Storm

Sabrina Ionescu keeps on doing unreal things on the floor as he made a shot while laying on the floor in the Liberty’s win in Seattle.

Just when you think Sabrina Ionescu has done it all on the floor, she manages to top herself yet again.

In the 98-85 win at Seattle where she finished with 25 points and eight rebounds, Ionescu went down to her knees for one of those boards and two of those points.

On a running lay-in attempt, Ionescu fell to the floor and as the ball came down, it somehow ended up in her hands. Amid some traffic in the lane, Ionescu didn’t have time to get up, so she put up a shot from her knees and it went in.

By now, it’s just another highlight in her illustrious career. Ionescu is coming off winning the gold medal in the Paris Olympics and she is leading the New York Liberty to the WNBA’s best record of 27-6. They are the favorites to win the championship, something that’s still not on Ionescu’s resume.

Yet.

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Denver Broncos name Bo Nix starting QB for Week 1

It took Bo Nix all of two preseason games to win the quarterback job in Denver.

That didn’t take long.

After two good performances on the field, Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton as named rookie quarterback Bo Nix as their starter for the 2024 season.

The former Oregon signal-caller was drafted 12th overall by the Broncos in April and he certainly hasn’t disappointed in fall camp or in the two preseason games Denver has played in so far.

The Broncos won those two games and Nix performed beyond expectations. In the 34-30 win over Indianapolis, Nix was 15-of-21 passing for 125 yards and a touchdown. He was even better against the Packers in which Denver won 27-2.

Nix was 8-of-9 passing, good for 80 yards and a touchdown.

“I thought he played well. He had one penalty, which was, man, right on the line. It was tough. It was a pretty heads-up play,” Payton said. “He did a good job at the line of scrimmage with some checks. You feel his comfort level as he continues to get used to the calls coming in. You kind of feel the poise when he’s playing,” Payton said.

That poise and success on the field led Payton to the obvious conclusion that it will be Nix leading the Broncos offense onto the field when they start regular season play at Seattle Sept. 8 at Lumen Field.

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Bo Nix Broncos jerseys are flying off the virtual shelves at Fanatics

After just one preseason game, Denver Broncos fans can’t log into their Fanatics accounts quick enough to buy their Bo Nix No. 10 jerseys.

Bo knows jersey sales.

Denver Broncos fans haven’t been this excited over a new rookie quarterback since possibly John Elway and so far, former Oregon signal-caller Bo Nix hasn’t let them down.

Nix was 15-of-21 passing for 125 yards and a touchdown to lead the Broncos over the Indianapolis Colts 34-30 in their first preseason game.

It was just preseason, but the excitement in the Mile High City is real. That performance prompted Broncos fans to log into their Fanatics.com account in order to buy their very own Nix No. 10 jersey.

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According to the site, Nix jersey sales saw a spike and now his No. 10 is the second-most NFL jersey bought on the site, only behind Caleb Williams of the Chicago Bears.

Nix is ahead of players such as JJ McCarthy, Michael Penix, Jr. and Jayden Daniels in terms of sales.

His play was so impressive that Denver has already announced Nix will start the next preseason game when they host the Green Bay Packers. Expect many fans to sport their new orange No. 10 jerseys in the stadium on Sunday.

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Sabrina Ionescu keeps on setting records in The Big Apple

Thirteen may be Sabrina Ionescu’s lucky number as that’s how many 30-point games in her career, setting a New York Liberty record.

It took her just four seasons to break this record and by the time she’s done, it may be a mark that’s never broken.

Former Duck and current WNBA superstar Sabrina Ionescu just set the New York Liberty franchise record with 13 games where she scored 30 or more points. Cappie Pondexter was the previous record holder.

In the 82-74 win over Orlando, Ionescu scored 30 points, grabbed six rebounds, and dished out six assists. New York is now 21-4 in what is its best season in franchise history.

It’s also been a career season for Ionescu as she leads the Liberty in scoring (19.8 ppg) and assists (6.1).

Her teammate, Brianna Stewart, has 10 games where she has scored 30 or more for the Liberty. It’ll be interesting to see who ultimately holds the record once everything is said and done.

Both Ionescu and Stewart and the entire WNBA will take a break as their best players will go to Paris and play for Team USA in the Olympics later this month.

WATCH: N’Faly Dante rejects Bronny James in NBA Summer League

WATCH: NBA Summer League fans got a taste of what was the Pac-12 as N’Faly Dante managed to block a driving Bronny James.

This is probably something that should have occurred in the Big Ten next season only if the NCAA allowed a sixth season for N’Faly Dante and if Bronny James wasn’t too eager to play with his superstar dad.

Instead, we got to see it in the NBA Summer League right now as Dante, playing for the Houston Rockets, came over from the weak side to block James in a would-be lay-up attempt.

Houston ended up defeating Los Angeles 99-80 in the exhibition game played in Las Vegas. Dante ended with just two points but grabbed seven rebounds and two blocks in a little over 15 minutes of playing time.

Dante was signed by the Rockets as an undrafted free agent.

Former Duck Chris Duarte traded to Chicago Bulls in three-team deal

Chris Duarte will try to jumpstart his NBA career in Chicago as he spent one forgettable year in Sacramento.

Sacramento wasn’t for Chris Duarte and Duarte wasn’t for the Kings.

The former Duck guard was sent from the California capital to the Chicago Bulls in a three-trade deal that also sent Harrison Barnes to the San Antonio Spurs.

As for the Bulls, they also received two second-round draft picks and cash in the deal.

It wasn’t a good fit for Duarte as a King as he played in 59 games where he averaged just four points and two rebounds a game. Those stats surely aren’t indicative of what Duarte’s potential is. In his first two seasons with the Indiana Pacers, the 6-foot-4 guard scored almost 11 points and 3.4 rebounds a game.

Duarte is expected to come off the bench in Chicago as he tries to resurrect his career.

Jermaine Couisnard signs with New Orleans Pelicans as free agent

Former Oregon guard Jermaine Couisnard signed with the New Orleans Pelicans as an undrafted free agent.

Former Oregon guard Jermaine Couisnard, as expected, wasn’t drafted in the NBA draft this week, but he did manage to sign a contract as a free agent.

Couisnard signed with the New Orleans Pelicans and will play in the NBA Summer League next month in hopes of making an impact and possibly making the big club.

Depending on how he does this summer, the Pelicans might see a fit to make Couisnard a two-way player, splitting time with New Orleans and their G-League squad, the Birmingham Squadron.

At Oregon, Couisnard solidified the shooting guard/small forward spot and even saw some time at point guard due to injuries to others or foul trouble. In his two seasons as a Duck, Couisnard averaged 15.2 points, 2.9 assists and four rebounds a game.

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Sabrina Ionescu reacts to surprise visit from The Duck at Liberty game

The Oregon Duck made a trip to The Big Apple to watch Sabrina Ionescu and the Liberty defeat Washington 93-88 on Sunday.

He may be the only Duck that needs an airplane to fly, but no one can say The Oregon Duck doesn’t get around.

This past weekend, The Duck was on hand to visit Sabrina Ionescu in The Big Apple to watch his favorite WNBA player and the New York Liberty play in person.

Ionescu was surprised her pal made the cross-country trip, but she is happy he did.

“The last time I saw him was at my wedding,” Ionescu said. “I had to look four times to make sure it was him. He’s the best of the best.”

It was a successful trip for The Duck as he saw Ionescu score 19 points, dish out eight assists, and grab six rebounds in the 93-88 win over the Washington Mystics.

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