Notre Dame 2023-24 Season (merged)

[DallasDomer]

Kiki Jefferson, the 6'1" wing who came over from James Madison, is leading the Cardinals in scoring.
I think she's often on the court as a front-court complement to Post Olivia Cochran. She's got solid two-level talent (OK three-pt. shooter), but transfers Sydney Taylor and Jayda Curry will bomb away from three-pt land. ND knows both from prior years when they were at UMass and Cal, respectively.

I can see ND switching man-to-man and 2-3 zones. Could see Soni Citron on Jefferson, but if Jefferson has to match up on Maddy Westbeld on defense, that will be an Irish +.

Taylor and her UMass guards had a hard time with Dara Mabrey and Soni in the NCAA's. I can only imagine what she'll think of Hidalgo.

All good points and if Louisville plays like they did against NC State it will be an enjoyable game for ND fans.

Cochran will get her 10 points and 8 rebounds but she can be managed by the defensive schemes you mentioned and Westbeld. Their 3 point shooting frequency isn't all that high so if someone, maybe Curry, gets hot from 3 then ND will have to adjust schemes or personnel. DeWolfe's minutes will get reduced to manage her defense just as was done against Uconn.

Citron will do her usual outstanding defensive job, add Hidalgo's speed and steals will control their guards. Lastly IMO coach Ivey & staff will out coach the other guy.

I do think Louisville will try to take advantage of the temper Hidalgo showed in the Pitt game. Again coaching will prepare her for it and Yum Center. The Yum usually has big crowds for ND & Kentucky, they had 11,000 for UK but it was a weekend. If they can get that many on a Thursday I still don't think it's an issue for a team who won in Storrs. I hope it's a well played injury free game without the referee issues the ACC is infamous for.

Apologies for the length.

 

[Frankus]

Another bad mathchup game for Notre Dame, where a faster, more agressive team speeded up Westbeld, Citron and DeWolfe’s games, which resulted in rushed missed shots and poor decisions. The problem being that the ACC, SEC and PAC have lots of these teams.

Miles will help next year, but ND has got to bring in a couple of athletic players if they’re going to have a shot at being elite.

LVille dared Bransford to shoot wide open 12 footers, knowing she can’t shoot. Ivey really has no moves to make. Other than HH, she doesn’t have the athletes.

Thankfully , Hidalgo kept us in the game and will keep us in all these games, but she’s the only elite player by a wide margin. She’s an amazing talent, but her supporting cast is weak.

 

[Dillon77]

Another bad mathchup game for Notre Dame, where a faster, more agressive team speeded up Westbeld, Citron and DeWolfe’s games, which resulted in rushed missed shots and poor decisions. The problem being that the ACC, SEC and PAC have lots of these teams.

Miles will help next year, but ND has got to bring in a couple of athletic players if they’re going to have a shot at being elite.

LVille dared Bransford to shoot wide open 12 footers, knowing she can’t shoot. Ivey really has no moves to make. Other than HH, she doesn’t have the athletes.

Thankfully , Hidalgo kept us in the game and will keep us in all these games, but she’s the only elite player by a wide margin. She’s an amazing talent, but her supporting cast is weak.

I'll agree with you on:
- Bad Matchup for ND. The Irish have had trouble with Oliva Cochran since she's arrived, with the only person who favorably matched up with her being Maya Dodson, who -- of course -- is tall, athletic and aggressive.
This was made even worse by the fact that -- save for Cochran -- this is virtually a different team than last year. You could see Soni pondering what this player would do and probably thinking, "hell, at least I knew what Van Lith would do. And she wasn't tall enough to make those skip passes down low."

- If you were in Romper Room (the in-game thread for The Bench) last night, you would've seen me wondering what's going on with KK Bradford. As a frosh last year, Bradford did exhibit aggressiveness (some UConn fans might say too much), and a knowledge of what her game was. In a way, she was like a more robust version of Anaya Peoples.
I know if that pre- and early-season injury has affected her play, but now she's moved outside, appears out of sorts on defense and is taking mid- to long jumpers that have no chance of going in.

Many people felt Anna DeWolfe was overmatched last night and wanted Bradford in. Coach Ivey tried this on several occasions but Bradford wasn't up to the task so Ivey went back to DeWolfe. Like you say, not many options.

- Need a few more athletic, aggressive players. One is sitting on the bench in Cass Prosper, and one possibility was allegedly in the stands last night: MaKenley Randloph, who has yet to make up her mind on where to play next year.
There's a need at ND, but a system that is built on players like her at Louisville.

And, a gentle push back:

- Don't think for a second that Sonia Citron is not athletic. The young woman was an all-state soccer player in addition to her basketball skills. She can get up and down the court, score at all three levels, rebound and play defense. Did she have an god-awful shooting night and unusually looked tentative turning the corner on drives to the hoop?

- Ditto for Miles when she comes back...another superb soccer player.

Still, accept your point that ND needs to balance out technically skilled players who are good athletes with great athletes who can do a lot of positive things in certain areas (and be taught the others....).

Until then, some game planning to help free up Westbeld and Citron is needed. FSU next.

 

[KY Card Fan]

Hidalgo is an amazing player. I have seen her on TV a few times but watching her in person last night from mid-court...wow! Her defensive instincts are off the charts and she pretty much took over the game late with her ability to get dribble penetration and knock down shots. She's a joy to watch.

 

[Reypl21]

Niele's offense is just not great. She needs all five players to have an altheticism advantage, but all she has is Hidalgo. Westbeld and Citron were smothered, and no plays are ran for them. ND's offense is so basic when they run one, but last night they hardly ran one. Louisville let Hannah get hers and stayed down on the others. Watson and DeWolfe aren't going to cut it against ACC competition. Still with all of that, the game was still close. Hannah is a superstar. I'm sure she would have liked to trade some points for more assists, but that's how Louisville was playing defense.

 

[Dillon77]

Niele's offense is just not great. She needs all five players to have an altheticism advantage, but all she has is Hidalgo. Westbeld and Citron were smothered, and no plays are ran for them. ND's offense is so basic when they run one, but last night they hardly ran one. Louisville let Hannah get hers and stayed down on the others. Watson and DeWolfe aren't going to cut it against ACC competition. Still with all of that, the game was still close. Hannah is a superstar. I'm sure she would have liked to trade some points for more assists, but that's how Louisville was playing defense.

- I knew the Irish were in trouble when Citron stopped making her patented back-door cuts. However, that's not all on Hidalgo: Citron was having an off night and the defenders were almost giving Hidalgo the lane thinking Cochran would stop her (she didn't, but Louisville hung on...).

- Said this before, but don't for a second think Citron or Miles aren't athletic. They were both P5 soccer prospects.
Atheticism is just not fast, rugged players hitting the boards: Citron had 7 rebounds and was leading breaks. Her major issue last night was not driving the lane and drawing fouls, which she can do against anyone.

 

[Dillon77]

Hidalgo is an amazing player. I have seen her on TV a few times but watching her in person last night from mid-court...wow! Her defensive instincts are off the charts and she pretty much took over the game late with her ability to get dribble penetration and knock down shots. She's a joy to watch.

Yes, I felt the same way when I saw her have 12 steals at NJIT. Yes, that's a mid-major, but still...12 steals?
You didn't hear this but Lobo advised the Louisville team on an out of bounds play: throw it where Hidalgo isn't.
That didn't seem to work, either.

 

[Reypl21]

- I knew the Irish were in trouble when Citron stopped making her patented back-door cuts. However, that's not all on Hidalgo: Citron was having an off night and the defenders were almost giving Hidalgo the lane thinking Cochran would stop her (she didn't, but Louisville hung on...).

- Said this before, but don't for a second think Citron or Miles aren't athletic. They were both P5 soccer prospects.
Atheticism is just not fast, rugged players hitting the boards: Citron had 7 rebounds and was leading breaks. Her major issue last night was not driving the lane and drawing fouls, which she can do against anyone.

Citron, Miles, and Prosper are all amazing athletes. But there are teams that can match us and make us play in the half court. And then what? When we play good defensive teams our offense is stagnant and turns into one on one. Watch the NC St-VT game and watch some half court offenses, or heck just watch Louisville last night.

 

[Frankus]

I'll agree with you on:
- Bad Matchup for ND. The Irish have had trouble with Oliva Cochran since she's arrived, with the only person who favorably matched up with her being Maya Dodson, who -- of course -- is tall, athletic and aggressive.
This was made even worse by the fact that -- save for Cochran -- this is virtually a different team than last year. You could see Soni pondering what this player would do and probably thinking, "hell, at least I knew what Van Lith would do. And she wasn't tall enough to make those skip passes down low."

- If you were in Romper Room (the in-game thread for The Bench) last night, you would've seen me wondering what's going on with KK Bradford. As a frosh last year, Bradford did exhibit aggressiveness (some UConn fans might say too much), and a knowledge of what her game was. In a way, she was like a more robust version of Anaya Peoples.
I know if that pre- and early-season injury has affected her play, but now she's moved outside, appears out of sorts on defense and is taking mid- to long jumpers that have no chance of going in.

Many people felt Anna DeWolfe was overmatched last night and wanted Bradford in. Coach Ivey tried this on several occasions but Bradford wasn't up to the task so Ivey went back to DeWolfe. Like you say, not many options.

- Need a few more athletic, aggressive players. One is sitting on the bench in Cass Prosper, and one possibility was allegedly in the stands last night: MaKenley Randloph, who has yet to make up her mind on where to play next year.
There's a need at ND, but a system that is built on players like her at Louisville.

And, a gentle push back:

- Don't think for a second that Sonia Citron is not athletic. The young woman was an all-state soccer player in addition to her basketball skills. She can get up and down the court, score at all three levels, rebound and play defense. Did she have an god-awful shooting night and unusually looked tentative turning the corner on drives to the hoop?

- Ditto for Miles when she comes back...another superb soccer player.

Still, accept your point that ND needs to balance out technically skilled players who are good athletes with great athletes who can do a lot of positive things in certain areas (and be taught the others....).

Until then, some game planning to help free up Westbeld and Citron is needed. FSU next.

I'll agree with you on:
- Bad Matchup for ND. The Irish have had trouble with Oliva Cochran since she's arrived, with the only person who favorably matched up with her being Maya Dodson, who -- of course -- is tall, athletic and aggressive.
This was made even worse by the fact that -- save for Cochran -- this is virtually a different team than last year. You could see Soni pondering what this player would do and probably thinking, "hell, at least I knew what Van Lith would do. And she wasn't tall enough to make those skip passes down low."

- If you were in Romper Room (the in-game thread for The Bench) last night, you would've seen me wondering what's going on with KK Bradford. As a frosh last year, Bradford did exhibit aggressiveness (some UConn fans might say too much), and a knowledge of what her game was. In a way, she was like a more robust version of Anaya Peoples.
I know if that pre- and early-season injury has affected her play, but now she's moved outside, appears out of sorts on defense and is taking mid- to long jumpers that have no chance of going in.

Many people felt Anna DeWolfe was overmatched last night and wanted Bradford in. Coach Ivey tried this on several occasions but Bradford wasn't up to the task so Ivey went back to DeWolfe. Like you say, not many options.

- Need a few more athletic, aggressive players. One is sitting on the bench in Cass Prosper, and one possibility was allegedly in the stands last night: MaKenley Randloph, who has yet to make up her mind on where to play next year.
There's a need at ND, but a system that is built on players like her at Louisville.

And, a gentle push back:

- Don't think for a second that Sonia Citron is not athletic. The young woman was an all-state soccer player in addition to her basketball skills. She can get up and down the court, score at all three levels, rebound and play defense. Did she have an god-awful shooting night and unusually looked tentative turning the corner on drives to the hoop?

- Ditto for Miles when she comes back...another superb soccer player.

Still, accept your point that ND needs to balance out technically skilled players who are good athletes with great athletes who can do a lot of positive things in certain areas (and be taught the others....).

Until then, some game planning to help free up Westbeld and Citron is needed. FSU next.

Thanks for your thoughts.

A gentle pushback. Soni and Miles may have both been soccer players, but OM is much more athletic. You could see Soni wanted to take people off the dribble last night, but she was stymied by their athleticism.

She and Westbeld and DeWolfe MUST hit wide open shots for this team to compete with the best teams. People are complaining about the offense, but there were plenty of open shots to be had from this offense, we just didn’t knock them down. Watson, Westbeld, Citron and Watson are seasoned vets. I hoped for a better performance from that group, but it was not meant to be. It feels like this is who we are. I hope I’m wrong.

 

[Frankus]

Niele's offense is just not great. She needs all five players to have an altheticism advantage, but all she has is Hidalgo. Westbeld and Citron were smothered, and no plays are ran for them. ND's offense is so basic when they run one, but last night they hardly ran one. Louisville let Hannah get hers and stayed down on the others. Watson and DeWolfe aren't going to cut it against ACC competition. Still with all of that, the game was still close. Hannah is a superstar. I'm sure she would have liked to trade some points for more assists, but that's how Louisville was playing defense.

I disagree. Westbeld, Citron and DeWolfe all had numerous wide open shots that they missed. Hell, Ivey designed a perfect shot at the end out of the last timeout and Westbeld air balled it. We have one of the best guards in wbb. Thankfully, after so many wide open missed shots, she could take over the game. Had she not, this would have been an ugly loss due to the poor shooting of veteran players.

 

[cancontent]

Thanks for your thoughts.

A gentle pushback. Soni and Miles may have both been soccer players, but OM is much more athletic. You could see Soni wanted to take people off the dribble last night, but she was stymied by their athleticism.

She and Westbeld and DeWolfe MUST hit wide open shots for this team to compete with the best teams. People are complaining about the offense, but there were plenty of open shots to be had from this offense, we just didn’t knock them down. Watson, Westbeld, Citron and Watson are seasoned vets. I hoped for a better performance from that group, but it was not meant to be. It feels like this is who we are. I hope I’m wrong.

Citron is also dealing with a knee issue that will linger for the balance of the season. Some games, she'll look fine, others not so much. She had no issues dealing with an athletic Louisville team last season while fully healthy.

 

[Frankus]

A gritty Soni Citron came up big in this game. She kept us in the game when we needed her most, despite being banged up.

It was another ACC mismatch of athleticism though. If FSU hadn’t turned the ball over so many times this would’ve been another loss. The better teams don’t, and as they dominate the paint, we lose.

Nielle has a big decision to make off-season regarding Watson and Marshall. Going inside to both is a black hole, as both struggle immensely to get shots off and neither are offensive rebounders or intimidators at the rim defensively. I assume both will have their degrees. If Ivey stands Pat and Koval isn’t ready, we’ve got the same problem inside, which is a huge part of why we’re a mid tier ACC team.

A win’s a win, but our weakness is obvious.

I also think Bransford has to slim down, work on her quickness and become a mid range player/slasher. She can’t compete inside either. She’s a bit of a project imo.

On a somewhat off night for HH, Maddy and Anna hit crucial shots and competed hard. It’s going to be interesting to see if Nielle brings in another guard to replace Anna.

Prosper is still on the bench. She was treated like a potential scorer from anywhere before her injury, but I hope Nielle assigns her a role as an inside defender, rebounder, scorer when she comes back. We desperately need athletic help in the paint.

 

[Reypl21]

A gritty Soni Citron came up big in this game. She kept us in the game when we needed her most, despite being banged up.

It was another ACC mismatch of athleticism though. If FSU hadn’t turned the ball over so many times this would’ve been another loss. The better teams don’t, and as they dominate the paint, we lose.

Nielle has a big decision to make off-season regarding Watson and Marshall. Going inside to both is a black hole, as both struggle immensely to get shots off and neither are offensive rebounders or intimidators at the rim defensively. I assume both will have their degrees. If Ivey stands Pat and Koval isn’t ready, we’ve got the same problem inside, which is a huge part of why we’re a mid tier ACC team.

A win’s a win, but our weakness is obvious.

I also think Bransford has to slim down, work on her quickness and become a mid range player/slasher. She can’t compete inside either. She’s a bit of a project imo.

On a somewhat off night for HH, Maddy and Anna hit crucial shots and competed hard. It’s going to be interesting to see if Nielle brings in another guard to replace Anna.

Prosper is still on the bench. She was treated like a potential scorer from anywhere before her injury, but I hope Nielle assigns her a role as an inside defender, rebounder, scorer when she comes back. We desperately need athletic help in the paint.

I agree with everything you posted. A win is a win, but there are still concerns. Watson had 5 attempts and it seemed like all of her misses were swatted. More attempts isn't the answer, instead it just shows how limited her game is. She can only score close to the basket and gets dominated in matchups against quality posts. Next season, if Watson comes back she needs to be the 4th or 5th big in rotation. I would put Marshall ahead or her. Watching the South Carolina bigs made me so envious. Watkins could play great on ball defense, help defense, rebound, and even make some mid range jumpers. Kitts very similar, just less athletic. Those type of players have been eating ND alive. I hope we get a couple in the transfer portal.

Hannah had 25 shot attempts and 14 fts, so maybe like 32 shots? Some of her shots are so contested or difficult, there's no way ND couldn't have gotten a better shot. Citron had a poor shooting game, but played big in the second OT. I don't think Niele is doing her any favors with getting her shots. The offense for Citron was set a pick for her, and then she had to make a tough shot or drive into traffic and make a contested layup. She can make tough shots, but maybe we could set an off ball pick? Again, South Carolina was setting off ball picks for Pao Pao.

The end of game shots we got off were horrendous. Hannah gets a screen to go against the best shot blocker in the ACC and try and make a tough shot. We got really lucky we got to win the game with free throws because we couldn't execute a play.

I think Prosper would greatly help with the athleticism and rebounding, but honestly of she can't be 100% this year... I hope she redshirts. It'll put her back with her original 2023 class, and give her time to heal completely. She played on two national teams, our overseas trip, and with the Canadian national team over the summer. With that, we have our 7 players. I think a sweet sixteen would be the peak for this team.

 

[Dillon77]

Hannah Hidalgo finished the Florida State game with 5 steals to give her 118 for the season thus far. That is now the Notre Dame program’s single-season record, a mark which was previously 114 and held by Skylar Diggins, who was a senior when she set her record.. And, of course, worth noting, it's only Feb. 12, so that amount is going to continue inching upwards.

Congratulations HH!!

 

[Dillon77]

Maddy Westbeld is having a very solid season, both scoring and rebounding.
Besides the obvious work she's put in, I think the reason why is that Kylee Watson and Nat Marshall have not jumped into the scoring/rebounding roles held by Maya Dodson, then Lauren Ebo. As a result, Maddy is not only shooting her intermediate and long-range shots, but moving into the paint more. Her blocks, btw, are up, too.
Way to go, Maddy.

 

[DallasDomer]

Maddy Westbeld is having a very solid season, both scoring and rebounding.
Besides the obvious work she's put in, I think the reason why is that Kylee Watson and Nat Marshall have not jumped into the scoring/rebounding roles held by Maya Dodson, then Lauren Ebo. As a result, Maddy is not only shooting her intermediate and long-range shots, but moving into the paint more. Her blocks, btw, are up, too.
Way to go, Maddy.

And she started every game of her career except this year when she took a head butt that put her in concussion protocol with a split lip. That's why she now wears a mask.

 

[Dillon77]

And she started every game of her career except this year when she took a head butt that put her in concussion protocol with a split lip. That's why she now wears a mask.

Yup...And she missed all of one game. Unfortunately, wasn't that the North Carolina game, that we lost? Aargh.

 

[triaddukefan]

Yup...And she missed all of one game. Unfortunately, wasn't that the North Carolina game, that we lost? Aargh.

So that's how yall lost to Chapel Hill? I was just wondering how did that happen.

 

[Dillon77]

So that's how yall lost to Chapel Hill? I was just wondering how did that happen.

We got beat....all credit to Banghart and her team.

However, having Maddy would've helped. The Irish got outrebounded by athletic wings and Alyssa Ustby (that persistent pain in the you-know-what that I'd love to have on our team). And Nivar was driving to the hoop all the time. Maddy, although not a primo shot blocker, is a solid weak-side helper. Lastly, it was Citron's first game back after missing a couple of months.

Personally, I'd like to get another crack at the Tarheels in the ACC Playoffs with Maddy back and Soni rounding into as good a form as she's going to be this season (I still think that knee strain/sprain is taking some reaction and hops from her....)

But first, we've got to go deal with NC State, then the Cameron Crazies (which you know....)

 

[Bone Dog]

On a happier note, sort of, I watched Japan play Canada Spain and Hungary in the Olympic qualifying round and their star, Mai Yamamoto, is like a vision of what Hannah Hidalgo could become as a pro. That same relentless mischievous energy and the courage to take the ball to the rim at 5’4”.

 

[triaddukefan]

Grear article about Hidalgo that came across my feed

Notre Dame star Hannah Hidalgo is still discovering her Puerto Rican roots

 

[Frankus]

Since nobody but Maddy showed up, I think Ivey needs to take the blame. She’s got to be able to get her team emotionally prepared for a Top 10 team at home and she didn’t do it. She’s got to see that state was forcing HH to go left and exploit it, either by burning state’s defensive rotation by HH easily penetrating to the basket left, or getting her the ball off screens for jumpers. You’ve got to get your best player going early, not play wack a mole hoping someone can shoot. Also, when it’s obvious your team has come out lackluster, call a timeout and chew some ass. Sitting and watching mediocrity isn’t a way to fix it. Do someting.

I’ve seen a lot of games at the ACC/Joyce/Purcell center. That was one of the worst team performances on a big stage that I’ve seen there. That kind of all around mediocrity is on the coach.

 

[Reypl21]

I'm going to sound like a broken record, but ND's offensive system is non-existent. This is a far cry from Muffet's offense, which is to be expected because they aren't the same coaches. Its hard to watch. ND can still turn this around with some big games in the regular season and maybe win a game or two against a ranked opponent in the ACC tournament. They can also have 10 losses going into the NCAA. (Duke, VTech, Louisville, ACC tourney) They have the opportunity, we shall see.

 

[Frankus]

I'm going to sound like a broken record, but ND's offensive system is non-existent. This is a far cry from Muffet's offense, which is to be expected because they aren't the same coaches. Its hard to watch. ND can still turn this around with some big games in the regular season and maybe win a game or two against a ranked opponent in the ACC tournament. They can also have 10 losses going into the NCAA. (Duke, VTech, Louisville, ACC tourney) They have the opportunity, we shall see.

Muffet always had someone who could score inside. So, there was an inside/outside game that’s non existent with this team.