Kelly Sopak doesn’t know what happened to the extra Miramonte High School gym key.
It could still sit on Sabrina Ionescu’s keyring eight years later, he said jokingly.
But the existence of that copy captured everything Sopak believed his best player could become.
Sopak, who coached Ionescu from AAU through high school, had never handed out a spare key before.
It wasn’t something he took lightly.
But Ionescu, now a Liberty star and holder of the WNBA’s single-season 3-point record, needed to satisfy her craving to shoot, and someone — or something — needed to unlock her Miramonte laboratory.
Custodians delayed cleaning if Ionescu was around, Sopak said.
In that gym, Ionescu, now 25, fine-tuned the 3-point shot that helped her convert at a 44.8 percent clip this season, and she also devised contingency plans for when 3s didn’t fall.
She could drive toward the blocks or, if the lanes were clogged, pull up for midrange jumpers.
Those became the defining features of Ionescu’s toolbox as she scored more than 2,000 points in high school, poured in another 2,000 at Oregon, shattered the record — for men and women — with 26 triple-doubles and became the face of college basketball before becoming a face of the Liberty, who play the Sun in Game 3 of the semifinals Friday with the series tied 1-1.
Ionescu became a “fearless gunslinger,” former Oregon associate head coach and current TCU women’s basketball head coach Mark Campbell told The Post.
In 2023 alone, she challenged Stephen Curry to a competition after breaking All-Star 3-point contest numbers and cracked Diana Taurasi’s single-season WNBA mark for 3s (though in 39 games instead of 34).
At this point, Campbell said, Ionescu has stopped surprising everyone.
“That 3-point contest really blasted Sabrina into a different stratosphere from the rest of the world getting to see her and what she’s capable of,” Campbell said. “Honestly, watching it, and her whole story, it’s like, ‘Oh, she did it again.’”
Around the time Sopak gave Ionescu the key, he called her into a side gym and set up cones and chairs.
He’d observed how defenses adjusted, bombarding Ionescu around the 3-point line and crowding the basket.
Instead of drive-and-kick instincts, Sopak spent 20 minutes teaching Ionescu to find the “sweet spot” without worrying about location.
Back in fourth grade, Ionescu’s form began near her stomach, which was different from others — who just heaved haphazardly from the side — because Ionescu tried to do it the right way.
The fundamentals were there, Sopak said.
Everything else would follow eventually.
Ionescu always tested her range, too, similar to the two 33-foot 3s she made this season.
On an 84-foot court, Ionescu launched from the scorer’s table — before she even reached Sopak’s coaching station.
They weren’t poor shots, Sopak said, and he encouraged Ionescu to shed her conservative selection.
With the Ducks and head coach Kelly Graves, Ionescu became one of the sport’s cornerstones.
Her commitment changed the program’s trajectory, and then her astronomical numbers — over 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists — validated the hype.
Ionescu stuck by her shooting foundation, and her starting point gradually rose.
There was never an overhaul. Sopak hasn’t witnessed a slump, though he encouraged her to keep shooting after early misses.
Ionescu, as well as her teammates, practiced the deep shots Curry took, too.
“We all thought that she was a really good player and obviously was going to be a program-changer,” Graves told The Post. “I don’t think anybody foresaw what would happen.”
The speed and strength finally arrived.
Oregon’s Final Four run in 2019 was quarterbacked by Ionsecu’s 19.9 points per game, and the night before the Elite Eight, Campbell received a text during the team dinner and film session. “
You’ve got to find me a gym tonight,” he recalled Ionescu writing.
They coordinated access to Portland State’s facility. Around 11 p.m., Ionescu conducted a full shooting workout.
And in the final minutes against Mississippi State, Ionescu sank a 3-pointer to seal Oregon’s first semifinals trip.
“Her 3-point shot, I think, everyone else is figuring out she has,” Sopak told The Post. “She’s always had it.”
Ionescu’s shooting efficiency continued after the Liberty selected her No. 1 overall, though other scoring avenues also exist.
That’s why Sopak was impressed when he combed through Game 2 highlights. Ionescu went 1-for-6 from beyond the arc — her worst showing since Aug. 1 — but still paced the Liberty with 21 points by hitting floaters and getting fouled on aggressive drives.
“Way to figure out a way to score,” Sopak texted her Tuesday, and Ionescu’s response — “yes,” plus an exclamation point — reaffirmed that his Miramonte lessons still applied.
Sometimes, a backup plan was required.
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