Notre Dame 2024-'25 Post-Season Thread

[Reypl21]

As I sit here and watch Citron in the W, see Westbeld get minutes, and knowing what Miles and Hidalgo are, it becomes more and more apparent that Ivey should be on a very hot seat. How on earth did that roster become such a hot garbage mess?

I have so many takes on last season. With the players, with development, and with the schemes. I'm only a NDWBB fan, not an alum. Around the time they became number 1 and were on that big winning streak, and of the Irish media were telling them how great they are. Morning talk shows and interviews, just complete arrogance and no consideration for the rest of the team's in the country. Then Hannah and Olivia were on the cover of Slam. ND went to FL for Unrivaled and got a tour of the place. It was like they were on a press tour for winning it all already.

And then boom they lost to NC St. I remember Niele hardly played Koval even though their freshman tour us up. I knew Koval was out the door around that time. I've always been skeptical on her offense, but once the losses were rolling she was receiving questions about half court offense. She deflected and said, "We just need to defend, force turnovers, and get in transition." Oh brother, I knew we were cooked for another S16 loss.

The rest of the country was getting better and improving and ND wasn't. No new offensive sets (what sets really?), her players were tired from lack of recruiting, and I think they were reading all the headlines about how great they were. ND actually got worse when they tried incorporating Maddy into the lineup, and couldn't get a lot of production from her.

That's not touching on the potential stuff with Hannah, but IMO I think that stuff is a little overblown. They were all playing great at the beginning of the season. This season will be interesting. Niele's offense relies on individuals to be great 1 on 1 scorers. I'm hoping she incorporates some type of offense in the half court. I lost confidence in her, and recruits definitely seem to have too. Citron being so good in the pro's does make a great case for her. If she doesn't get 4 recruits in this cycle I think the program is in deep trouble.

 

[visitingcock]

As I sit here and watch Citron in the W, see Westbeld get minutes, and knowing what Miles and Hidalgo are, it becomes more and more apparent that Ivey should be on a very hot seat. How on earth did that roster become such a hot garbage mess?

I don't think she should be on a "very hot seat" but she does need to learn from this. She has only been on the job since the 2020/2021 season which was a year of turmoil with Covid. Last year was only her 4th full year on the job. How many coaches reach the final 4 in their 4th year? Very few. Even coaches who have reached the championship game numerous times since have struggled in their early years .

"If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, . . . " is a hard lesson to learn and implement but necessary.

I think she will get there, but it isn't learned overnight. She seems to have a solid GM to help her learn as she goes.

 

[Geew1992]

As I sit here and watch Citron in the W, see Westbeld get minutes, and knowing what Miles and Hidalgo are, it becomes more and more apparent that Ivey should be on a very hot seat. How on earth did that roster become such a hot garbage mess?

Because the rumors of the rift between miles and HH are true. And that will tear apart a team every time

 

[Frankus]

As I sit here and watch Citron in the W, see Westbeld get minutes, and knowing what Miles and Hidalgo are, it becomes more and more apparent that Ivey should be on a very hot seat. How on earth did that roster become such a hot garbage mess?

I doubt if Ivey is going to be on the hot seat this year, but it is obvious to me that Sonia was underutilized, and those kinds kind of personnel decisions have to improve.

 

[Dillon77]

I doubt if Ivey is going to be on the hot seat this year, but it is obvious to me that Sonia was underutilized, and those kinds kind of personnel decisions have to improve.

I watched a lot of post-game pressers featuring Ivey -- often with Soni Citron next to her -- and Ivey would often refer her to the glue and would say something to the effect that "..we really don't have to set up that many plays" for her, per se. Now I know Ivey wanted a "read and react" type of offense, but Citron often had to react to how the point guards were doing that. As such, she was at the mercy of Hidalgo or Miles.

This didn't hurt Citron or the team too much her first three years because it was only Miles or Hidalgo at the PG. But senior year, there were both. You don't have to look back in retrospect to see that having a double read and react approach cut down on the other three players on the court. And when one of them averages 15 ppg at the next level...well, Ivey and/or new GM Garrity should make note.

 

[ucbart]

I doubt if Ivey is going to be on the hot seat this year, but it is obvious to me that Sonia was underutilized, and those kinds kind of personnel decisions have to improve.

Why? Her recruiting has been less than stellar and her team imploded this year. She has two years left of Hidalgo and not much coming in.

 

[Jumper33]

I watched a lot of post-game pressers featuring Ivey -- often with Soni Citron next to her -- and Ivey would often refer her to the glue and would say something to the effect that "..we really don't have to set up that many plays" for her, per se. Now I know Ivey wanted a "read and react" type of offense, but Citron often had to react to how the point guards were doing that. As such, she was at the mercy of Hidalgo or Miles.

This didn't hurt Citron or the team too much her first three years because it was only Miles or Hidalgo at the PG. But senior year, there were both. You don't have to look back in retrospect to see that having a double read and react approach cut down on the other three players on the court. And when one of them averages 15 ppg at the next level...well, Ivey and/or new GM Garrity should make note.

I just looked and she is shooting 47/44(!)/87. Maintained over the course of an entire rookie season in the WNBA. Frankly I don’t think it took a genius basketball mind to see that they should have played through her more last year. I watched about 10 or so ND games last season and it was obvious to me.

Efficient shooter who always makes good decisions with the ball = pass that player the ball. Who cares if it’s not flashy. It’s a shame Westbeld was injured the first part of the season and couldn’t get going. She was quite good the season before.

I really think ultimately Miles and Hidalgo were never going to work out even if Hidalgo’s social media thing didn’t happen. They are both too ball dominant and function best as the alpha, not 1A and 1B.

 

[Dillon77]

Why? Her recruiting has been less than stellar and her team imploded this year. She has two years left of Hidalgo and not much coming in.

Pay attention to how this recruiting cycle plays out (2026). She's apparently put a lot of effort into this class. So far, she's got wing Bella Ragone and a lot of finalists. This is where ND has faltered since Hidalgo's class...closing the deal on the finalists.
Why is Class of 2026 so important? The early deadline is before most (all?) '25-26 games and this season -- in part, due to that implosion that possibly contributed to many transfers -- is probably not going to turn out well.

Ivey has two new full-time bosses in GM Pat Garrity and an athletic director who didn't hire her....stay tuned.