Notre Dame 2023-24 Season (merged)

[Dillon77]

Sonia Citron, Kylee Watson Represent Notre Dame at ACC Tip-Off

Most interesting question/answer came from Mr. Packer, who asked who should first-game fans look for to surprise them.
Both Citron and Watson (around 3:55 of tape) said: Anna DeWolfe, the grad transfer combo guard from Fordam.
Citron called her a "baller" and Watson a "bucket." With Dara Mabrey (finally) graduated, look for DeWolfe to get a lot of PT at the off-guard position

Kylee Watson & Sonia Citron | ACC Tipoff

fightingirish.com

 

[JellyBean]

Sonia Citron, Kylee Watson Represent Notre Dame at ACC Tip-Off

Most interesting question/answer came from Mr. Packer, who asked who should first-game fans look for to surprise them.
Both Citron and Watson (around 3:55 of tape) said: Anna DeWolfe, the grad transfer combo guard from Fordam.
Citron called her a "baller" and Watson a "bucket." With Dara Mabrey (finally) graduated, look for DeWolfe to get a lot of PT at the off-guard position

Kylee Watson & Sonia Citron | ACC Tipoff

fightingirish.com

I am a huge Kylee Watson fan, even though she plays for ND She has been on my radar as a player since she went to Oregon. Not sure what happened there but she has the size and skills to be a huge plus for ND again this year.

 

[visitingcock]

 

[Dillon77]

Thanks for posting about the game, but outside of a mere mention of S. Carolina's opponent, I heard not one word about ND's coach, team or players. ESPN has apparently decided that with Olivia Miles sidelined for the near/mid-future, ND's just a middle-of-the-pack team.

Don't mind me...I tend to find ESPN riding limo's of their own choosing waay too often. Granted, most of them are well-deserved (as in Dawn's case), but often at the expense of other teams....Let's play the dang game.

 

[visitingcock]

Thanks for posting about the game, but outside of a mere mention of S. Carolina's opponent, I heard not one word about ND's coach, team or players. ESPN has apparently decided that with Olivia Miles sidelined for the near/mid-future, ND's just a middle-of-the-pack team.

I expect them to interview Ivey in the next couple of days.

 

[Dillon77]

Paris getting ready for Fighting Irish arrival:

 

[Dillon77]

And they're now in Paris, replete with new Under Armour wear as they see the sites. I'm sure S. Carolina will
sport tres bien threads as they hit the City of Lights.

 

[visitingcock]

And they're now in Paris, replete with new Under Armour wear as they see the sites. I'm sure S. Carolina will
sport tres bien threads as they hit the City of Lights.

We arrived early this morning. Contrasting colors!

 

[Dillon77]

We arrived early this morning. Contrasting colors!

Excellent!
Wonder if they'll have one joint meal beforehand (Niele, Dawn and Coach Owens -- ND's assc. head coach -- ate together a lot at the last World Cup).

 

[Dillon77]

Here we go: Game Day, featuring ND's resident French Speaker, Cass Prosper:

 

[Dillon77]

Excellent!
Wonder if they'll have one joint meal beforehand (Niele, Dawn and Coach Owens -- ND's assc. head coach -- ate together a lot at the last World Cup).

Well, maybe not a meal, but Niele and Dawn did meet up. Weather looks a tad brisk: you can tell what coach spends her time in chilly South Bend!

 

[Geew1992]

What’s up with KK? She’s out for the game

 

[MSGRET]

Well, maybe not a meal, but Niele and Dawn did meet up. Weather looks a tad brisk: you can tell what coach spends her time in chilly South Bend!

It looks a little too cold for me, I'll take Vegas weather any day over Paris and the rest of Europe. Can't believe I'm going to say this but, "Good Luck to both teams and may they get through the game injury free."

 

[DEpup]

Yeah are Prosper and Bransford having injury issues?

 

[Reypl21]

If ND didn't have Hidalgo in this game... yikes. The post is going to be a clear weakness all season, but Marshall did good in her minutes. Hopefully she gets more playing time, her jump shot looks nice.

I will have to rewatch the game because I was listening while at work and glancing at the game. I kept wondering why they weren't trying to get shots for their guards instead of driving in the paint. It sounded like they were just swatting everything down there in the 3rd quarter.

ND has a lot of work to do, especially the guards. They won't play too many teams that athletic this season, but still.

 

[GamecockFam]

Good game! You've got a good one in Hidalgo. Does any think she may move to the 2 spot once Miles returns to the game? I can't see her coming off the bench.

 

[Reypl21]

Good game! You've got a good one in Hidalgo. Does any think she may move to the 2 spot once Miles returns to the game? I can't see her coming off the bench.

They should start both of them IMO. DeWolfe would be a good back up guard. Miles is a better passer than Hidalgo, but Hidalgo is a better shooter. I think both starting can be electric, plus ND needs an elite 2 guard to play with Citron at the 3.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

Notre Dame seems to currently have a chemistry and fitness problem. They looked gassed.

 

[Dillon77]

First, congrats to @visitingcock and his South Carolina Gamecocks for taking a one-point deficit at the 1st quarter mark, then lapping the Irish (a few times).

• Think Coach Ivey is ruing that she left the 2-3 zone for man to man at the start of the 2nd quarter. Cardoso got free, hit a few and gained confidence from there on in, choice of defense be damned.
• Hidalgo's great 1st half might've been a bit of a curse in retrospect. Like many a frosh, she thought she could win this a shoot-first P:G rather than an all-round PG. Miles had this issue in her first half year. Need her to manage the team, too.
• S. Carolina keeping a person on Citron who was effectively neutralized (12 pts for Soni isa win for Dawn).
• Paopao is going to love being on this team....

Some points:

• KK Bransford is, indeed, hurt. Could've used her athletic ability.
• Nat Marshall looks be finally over a string of injuries that plagued her early ND career. Fine jumper and looks to pass.

Short-term future:

• Now with that behind them, ND can look to work on all sorts of things from half-court offense to getting KK Bransford back.
• Need to get Cass Prosper's stroke (of any kind) in gear. Great athlete.

Down the Road:

• When Miles comes back, it's pretty obvious to many that she'll take over the primary ball handling responsibilities, while Hidalgo shifts to off guard. This will automatically add 5 to 6 points to anything Citron is doing.
• Thank any deity that Kate Koval is coming to ND so the Irish can have a tall and solid post, which we have not had since Jess Shepard.

Paris was a great promotion and experience, but I'll settle for going to NJIT's cool new building to see the Irish try against them on Sunday. Hey, it's the little things and -- woohee -- it's also a long season.

 

[Dillon77]

If ND didn't have Hidalgo in this game... yikes. The post is going to be a clear weakness all season, but Marshall did good in her minutes. Hopefully she gets more playing time, her jump shot looks nice.

I will have to rewatch the game because I was listening while at work and glancing at the game. I kept wondering why they weren't trying to get shots for their guards instead of driving in the paint. It sounded like they were just swatting everything down there in the 3rd quarter.

ND has a lot of work to do, especially the guards. They won't play too many teams that athletic this season, but still.

I'd suggest watching the game. Take a read of my input, which comes from watching it unfold in real time.
Believe it or not, I think Hannah's tremendous success might've hurt a bit in the second half in that she tried to ISO very often and was driving a bit too deep underneath. Yes, Watson should've given up the drives and set screens to allow Sonia to drive off them.

However, it's the first game of the season and ND will not run into as athletic a team with a premier center for quite some time.

While we all wish Olivia Miles is coming back, I'd settle for KK Bransford getting on the court to add her brand of defense, rebounding and coolness under pressure.

 

[victor64]

Dillon, Miles is cleared to play but is not? How come?

 

[GoChips20]

Dillon, Miles is cleared to play but is not? How come?

I caught that on the broadcast, too. If it was indeed an ACL (which I think has all but been confirmed), that’s FAST.

I’d love to see her back but think it’s good if she’s holding out awhile. Today’s end result aside, Hidalgo looks fully capable of running the team in her absence.

 

[Blueballer]

What I was most surprised at was ND lack of post defense. Sure SC looks awesome but ND did nothing to keep Cardoso out of the lane. She just camped out under the basket and got lob passes. You can't let that happen.

 

[Dillon77]

What I was most surprised at was ND lack of post defense. Sure SC looks awesome but ND did nothing to keep Cardoso out of the lane. She just camped out under the basket and got lob passes. You can't let that happen.

Blueballer:
I think ND did an ok job in the first quarter with the 2-3 zone. Watson would be behind her and Citron and Westbeld would collapse from the wings.
When Ivey decided to shake things up in the 2nd, she went to a man to man and -- you're right -- nothing but Watson or Westbeld, both of who were outmanned. By the time, she went back to zone. Cardoso was in sync. Candidly, for a team that is familiar with her from Syracuse days, I was more than a little surprised at this (Plus, they had all summer to prepare...they knew what was coming.)

Also, I would've like to have seen more timeouts advising the Irish not to rush their shots or drive willy nllly into the lane...it just led to fast breaks the other way. This could be the maturation process of Hidalgo. Live and learn.

 

[Geew1992]

Dillon, Miles is cleared to play but is not? How come?

Is she cleared? I didn’t hear anything so I’m not questioning. I do know there is still a question of her red shirting this year. Maybe a slip of the tongue??