Notre Dame 2024-25 Season

[LwrcasefaN]

I’m pretty surprised ND lost. At mid-year, I had them as favorites for the National Championship. From my vantage point, I think part of the problem was team chemistry. When teams are winning, locker room issues are easily swept aside, but if things get a little tough, they seem to blow up. As a side note, I’m wondering if this won’t impact more teams as the transfer portal becomes a reality for teams to plug holes in their roster. When kids are recruited out of high school, coaches have a long time to evaluate temperament and team fit. With the portal, they are deciding within a couple of days.

Hidalgo is one of the best players in the country, but it doesn’t seem like she and Miles worked well together. I‘ve no idea why, but from watching games, Miles didn’t look very happy. It would be easy to blame jealousy or competition, but I think coaching plays a big part, too. Whatever went wrong, it’s a huge missed opportunity for the Irish. Who knows when they will have a core that is that talented again.

I was surprised they lost as well. I think the chemistry issues weren’t personal related, but offensive balance related, namely the absence, literal and otherwise, of Wesbeld. All their losses had a common theme, low output from Wesbeld (in her absence other bigs) and high scoring from their guards, albeit not especially efficient. Three point efficiency was low in their losses. She seemed to never ‘comfortably’ fit back in on her return. There were some games where I forgot she was on the floor and she barely took more than a handful of shot attempts. The other issue was their short bench. Over a season this long that will catch up to your stamina. Citron looked gassed at times against TCU.

 

[UConnCat]

I watched the post-game presser and my take was the same as SBT writer Tom Noie:

In the end, it ended like too many recent seasons. There were tears, sure, because in the end, there are always some tears. There were words, but did anything any of them said really matter? Look at the faces of those three players on the dais, look at Citron and at Miles and at Westbeld, all absent of emotion and you got the sense that this ended in a way that was fitting.

Was this Notre Dame women's basketball team different in this March Madness Sweet 16?

Notre Dame women's basketball had been here before — in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 with a chance to go deeper. Did Irish have what it took to win?

www.southbendtribune.com

Miles didn't strike me as someone eager to return for one more run.

 

[Frankus]

Tough loss to a talented team that has an extremely well coached offensive system.

It was a lot like the previous game. They wear us down trying to guard their 3-5 passes per possession, and then kill us as we tire with the pick and roll. They get a rest on defense when we throw 1 pass (or none) and launch a shot. It pays off in the 4th quarter as fatigue hurts us more than them on both ends of the court.

I hope our AD sits coach Ivey down and challenges her to be a better offensive coach, with a multi pass, multi option system. Likewise, I hope coach Ivey sits all the players-including and most particulary HH- down, and tells them they are going to be part of that system, and that so much freelance, YMCA ball is gone for good.

When you get to the level of Geno, Dawn, Vic, Kim, and now Mark Campbell, you can't win on a philosophy of work hard on defense and freelance whenever you want to. There's got to be a smarter approach.

 

[Dillon77]

What I find interesting is Ivey really can’t recruit players out of high school. ND has 1 player coming in and a lot leaving. The portal is going to have to be huge

This was a huge source of concern when Ivey announced the signing of Leah Macy....period. Second year in a row with just one player coming in. Very perplexing, considering she (Ivey) was Muffet McGraw's chief recruiter during the Irish years from Skylar Diggins (now -Smith) through the two national championship years.

Many Irish fans -- this one included -- believe ND's got to upgrade the minimalist staffing situation they currently have and bring in administrative help on that front and maybe tweak the approach.

But for next year, you're right: the portal will be critical.

 

[Dillon77]

Posted on The Bench Sunday morning. Before going into heavy analysis, wanted to address the emotional component with suddenly having "your" team's season ended.
It was titled "Believe it or Not, Some Sunday Morning Thanks."

After nearly five months of having multiple games to look forward to during the WBB season, it ends. Done. Cold Turkey.
Sad about losing the whole beginning, during and end processes associate with that and, of course, the team and players associated with it.

That was a tough loss yesterday: ND's shooting woes, combined against TCU's pick and drive offense (Prince and Van Lith) which stymied the Irish defense (again) made for a very tough watch. And some coaching moves -- or lack thereof -- were frustrating. Believe me, there will be more to be said about that and going forward, but I'm going to go play in my Sunday morning hoops group to blow off some steam and relax a bit.

But first, I'd like to offer a bit of thanks for -- until the latter stages of the regular season -- had been a delightful run.

- Thanks to all the Irish players for giving it their all, whether they were on the active roster, mostly practice players or part of the rotation.
As an Irish alum and parent of two alums, I was pleased with the way they represented the university on and off the court.

- In particular, all the best to those that are departing: Liza Karlen -- a class act; Liatu King -- who got to show her acumen on a big stage and came through time and time again; and, Maddy Westbeld, who despite never really getting into a Maddy-flow this year, had a top-notch run here.

And, of course, to Olivia Miles and Sonia Citron -- the two recruiting cornerstones that Coach Ivey based her program on -- for outstanding efforts, which contributed to my viewing pleasure oh so often.

Remember, the doldrums this program was during MM's last year and Ivey's initial ones. Yes, Sonia and 'Liv didn't get to the Elite Eight, but picked up some ACC titles along the way. Citron's taking over the point after 'Liv went down might've been the profile in hoops courage and excellence that will stick with me.

Best of luck to all those people and players in the future, regardless of the path(s) they choose: they'll be remembered.

 

[oldude]

Posted on The Bench Sunday morning. Before going into heavy analysis, wanted to address the emotional component with suddenly having "your" team's season ended.
It was titled "Believe it or Not, Some Sunday Morning Thanks."

After nearly five months of having multiple games to look forward to during the WBB season, it ends. Done. Cold Turkey.
Sad about losing the whole beginning, during and end processes associate with that and, of course, the team and players associated with it.

That was a tough loss yesterday: ND's shooting woes, combined against TCU's pick and drive offense (Prince and Van Lith) which stymied the Irish defense (again) made for a very tough watch. And some coaching moves -- or lack thereof -- were frustrating. Believe me, there will be ore to be said about that and going forward, but I'm going to go play in the Sunday morning hoops group to blow off some steam and relax a bit.

But first, I'd like to offer a bit of thanks for -- until the latter stages of the regular season -- had been a delightful run.

- Thanks to all the Irish players for giving it their all, whether they were on the active roster, mostly practice players or part of the rotation.
As an Irish alum and parent of two alums, I was pleased with the way they represented the university on and off the court.

- In particular, all the best to those that are departing: Liza Karlen -- a class act; Liatu King -- who got to show her acumen on a big stage and came through time and time again; and, Maddy Westbeld, who despite never really getting into a Maddy-flow this year, had a top-notch run here.

And, of course, to Olivia Miles and Sonia Citron -- the two recruiting cornerstones that Coach Ivey based her program on -- for outstanding efforts, which contributed to my viewing pleasure oh so often.

Remember, the doldrums this program was during MM's last year and Ivey's initial ones. Yes, Sonia and 'Liv didn't get to the Elite Eight, but picked up some ACC titles along the way. Citron's taking over the point after 'Liv went down might've been the profile in hoops courage and excellence that will stick with me.

Best of luck to all those people and players in the future, regardless of the path(s) they choose: they'll be remembered.

For what it’s worth, of all the teams playing in the Sweet 16, ND was the one I feared most. The Irish match up with the Huskies better than any other team in WBB, and the memory of being taken to the woodshed by ND in South Bend in December is not a pleasant recollection.

For every team except one, the season ends in disappointment. Never fear. The Irish will be back. I look forward to a great game in Storrs next December.

 

[jdote33]

Posted on The Bench Sunday morning. Before going into heavy analysis, wanted to address the emotional component with suddenly having "your" team's season ended.
It was titled "Believe it or Not, Some Sunday Morning Thanks."

After nearly five months of having multiple games to look forward to during the WBB season, it ends. Done. Cold Turkey.
Sad about losing the whole beginning, during and end processes associate with that and, of course, the team and players associated with it.

That was a tough loss yesterday: ND's shooting woes, combined against TCU's pick and drive offense (Prince and Van Lith) which stymied the Irish defense (again) made for a very tough watch. And some coaching moves -- or lack thereof -- were frustrating. Believe me, there will be ore to be said about that and going forward, but I'm going to go play in the Sunday morning hoops group to blow off some steam and relax a bit.

But first, I'd like to offer a bit of thanks for -- until the latter stages of the regular season -- had been a delightful run.

- Thanks to all the Irish players for giving it their all, whether they were on the active roster, mostly practice players or part of the rotation.
As an Irish alum and parent of two alums, I was pleased with the way they represented the university on and off the court.

- In particular, all the best to those that are departing: Liza Karlen -- a class act; Liatu King -- who got to show her acumen on a big stage and came through time and time again; and, Maddy Westbeld, who despite never really getting into a Maddy-flow this year, had a top-notch run here.

And, of course, to Olivia Miles and Sonia Citron -- the two recruiting cornerstones that Coach Ivey based her program on -- for outstanding efforts, which contributed to my viewing pleasure oh so often.

Remember, the doldrums this program was during MM's last year and Ivey's initial ones. Yes, Sonia and 'Liv didn't get to the Elite Eight, but picked up some ACC titles along the way. Citron's taking over the point after 'Liv went down might've been the profile in hoops courage and excellence that will stick with me.

Best of luck to all those people and players in the future, regardless of the path(s) they choose: they'll be remembered.

Great post. I had noted the Sonia and Liv not getting to the elite 8 thing in another thread but it's a little unfair in retrospect. Unfortunately they only had two post season's together, the first being their freshman year when they played a loaded NC State team. Soni and Liv were both a lot of fun too watch individually and as a duo. I really liked this particular team. I'm not an ND fan but they had me excited and eager during the off-season and they pretty much met expectations to start the year. It was beautifully constructed and for about 2 and a half months they played truly beautiful basketball.

 

[VA Huskie]

Posted on The Bench Sunday morning. Before going into heavy analysis, wanted to address the emotional component with suddenly having "your" team's season ended.
It was titled "Believe it or Not, Some Sunday Morning Thanks."

After nearly five months of having multiple games to look forward to during the WBB season, it ends. Done. Cold Turkey.
Sad about losing the whole beginning, during and end processes associate with that and, of course, the team and players associated with it.

That was a tough loss yesterday: ND's shooting woes, combined against TCU's pick and drive offense (Prince and Van Lith) which stymied the Irish defense (again) made for a very tough watch. And some coaching moves -- or lack thereof -- were frustrating. Believe me, there will be ore to be said about that and going forward, but I'm going to go play in the Sunday morning hoops group to blow off some steam and relax a bit.

But first, I'd like to offer a bit of thanks for -- until the latter stages of the regular season -- had been a delightful run.

- Thanks to all the Irish players for giving it their all, whether they were on the active roster, mostly practice players or part of the rotation.
As an Irish alum and parent of two alums, I was pleased with the way they represented the university on and off the court.

- In particular, all the best to those that are departing: Liza Karlen -- a class act; Liatu King -- who got to show her acumen on a big stage and came through time and time again; and, Maddy Westbeld, who despite never really getting into a Maddy-flow this year, had a top-notch run here.

And, of course, to Olivia Miles and Sonia Citron -- the two recruiting cornerstones that Coach Ivey based her program on -- for outstanding efforts, which contributed to my viewing pleasure oh so often.

Remember, the doldrums this program was during MM's last year and Ivey's initial ones. Yes, Sonia and 'Liv didn't get to the Elite Eight, but picked up some ACC titles along the way. Citron's taking over the point after 'Liv went down might've been the profile in hoops courage and excellence that will stick with me.

Best of luck to all those people and players in the future, regardless of the path(s) they choose: they'll be remembered.

Nice thoughts for your team. Interestingly, I’m a ND football fan (as many kids who grew up Catholic are). But as a Huskies fan, I’ve no love lost for ND basketball. I do look forward to your post season analysis of what happened to this team. My pool had them in the FF and I feared UConn having to play them again.

 

[WBBTakeover]

This team was fun to watch far more often than not, so I'll be watching again next season (and this summer with the draftees/rookies).

 

[Geew1992]

I don’t think anyone saw this coming

 

[Puppy Love]

I wonder how bad things really were in the locker room?

 

[Frankus]

I don’t think anyone saw this coming

In the end, I don't think there was room for two guards who wanted to run the show. I went to a lot of home games this year, and NI was always talking to/coaching HH, and rarely spoke in game to OM. I expect Miles to go to a place with a talented big. Lots of options for her. She's got a grad degree from ND. Now, I suspect it will all be basketball. She had a nagging ankle injury all year. So, she'll have time to heal. l wish her all the best. Hopefully NI can construct a great roster via the portal.

EDIT: The other factor is money. Both HH and OM are high NIL money players. There's only so much for two similar players. This could turn out to be a win-win for both OM and Notre Dame. We'll see.

 

[yhun89]

In the end, I don't think there was room for two guards who wanted to run the show. I went to a lot of home games this year, and NI was always talking to/coaching HH, and rarely spoke in game to OM. I expect Miles to go to a place with a talented big. Lots of options for her. She's got a grad degree from ND. Now, I suspect it will all be basketball. She had a nagging ankle injury all year. So, she'll have time to heal. l wish her all the best. Hopefully NI can construct a great roster via the portal.

Heard she was front-running TCU and if she wants a talented big... she's not gonna get one down there.

 

[Frankus]

Heard she was front-running TCU and if she wants a talented big... she's not gonna get one down there.

If Mark Campbell can get Sedonia Prince, and the NIL money is still there, he can get another high quality big.

Edit: If your post was obvious sarcasm, I apologize for not getting it. Sometimes sarcasm doesn't translate well and I'm an illiterate combination emoji reader.

 

[Jumper33]

I’m shocked by this but I’m sure someone offered her a lot of money. Ultimately seems like the situation everyone predicted did pan out. She and Hidalgo could not truly coexist no matter how much the media wanted to push them as a duo. Both already had the previous experience of being “the number one” on that team. They flew too close to the sun with this roster construction.

Weirdly they appeared to have better chemistry earlier in the season, then they lost it. Miles was getting benched on defense in all their late season losses. It’ll be weird to see her in a new college uniform. Good luck to her she is a talented player.

 

[my2cents]

Fro's gotta go.

 

[DEFCONN1]

I know many will disagree with me, but I’m of the opinion Notre Dame is none the worse for her departure.

 

[WBBTakeover]

I know many will disagree with me, but I’m of the opinion Notre Dame is none the worse for her departure.

I agree. If she'd entered the draft, she was going to leave anyway.

 

[Dillon77]

So, it's been a heck of a 12-hour stretch of news coming out of ND and I -- for one -- am starting to cross my fingers and think good thoughts in regards to other roster positions.

As for Emma Risch, the only constant that she's had the first two years are injuries to her hip. She has/should get a medical redshirt for her first year, but she played too many games this year to qualify. Unfortunately, she was not getting much time behind Hidalgo, Citron and Cass Prosper. It's too bad because, theoretically, she'd have a chance for major minutes next year with Citron and Miles leaving.
Apparently, that wasn't enough of a factor for her or she just didn't care for the program/campus enough to give it another shot.
In any case, her situation kind of reminds me of Ali Patberg....tough start. Hopefully, she'll regain her health and get in three years of playing time.

She's from southern Florida. If she'd like to stay in state, gosh knows the U of Miami could use some players...but you can say the same about a lot of folks.

 

[Frankus]

So, it's been a heck of a 12-hour stretch of news coming out of ND and I -- for one -- am starting to cross my fingers and think good thoughts in regards to other roster positions.

As for Emma Risch, the only constant that she's had the first two years are injuries to her hip. She has/should get a medical redshirt for her first year, but she played too many games this year to qualify. Unfortunately, she was not getting much time behind Hidalgo, Citron and Cass Prosper. It's too bad because, theoretically, she'd have a chance for major minutes next year with Citron and Miles leaving.
Apparently, that wasn't enough of a factor for her or she just didn't care for the program/campus enough to give it another shot.
In any case, her situation kind of reminds me of Ali Patberg....tough start. Hopefully, she'll regain her health and get in three years of playing time.

She's from southern Florida. If she'd like to stay in state, gosh knows the U of Miami could use some players...but you can say the same about a lot of folks.

This doesn't surprise me at all. Good luck to her. I don't think she'll get a lot of Top 10 program interest due to her injuries, but she can shoot, and that's a valuable commodity.

 

[Frankus]

I know many will disagree with me, but I’m of the opinion Notre Dame is none the worse for her departure.

None the worse? She's a lottery pick in the WNBA who is going to be wanted by virtually everyone looking at the portal.

It's not her fault that (a) she had a chronic ankle injury almost the entire year and (b) NI didn't adapt the offense to a ball movement, motion offense where the court got spread and OM got more opportunities to drive or dish.
She is perhaps the best player in the country with the ball in her hand on a fast break, and seeing the court finding open players in the half court . Everyone in women's basketball would like to have the "problem" of having HH and OM. She wasn't the problem for ND this year, and some great college coach will maximize her talent next year as long as she can stay healthy.

 

[Sifaka]

So, that's Risch, Miles, Koval, and TBD?

Mutiny on the Dome?

 

[Ladeeeeda]

View attachment 108380

So, that's Risch, Miles, Koval, and TBD?

Mutiny on the Dome?

Seems like Ivey made a choice.....HH...... and those that do not like it are leaving....that is just my outside looking in opinion

 

[GamecockFam]

Why does it feel like Hannah Hidalgo has gone from hero to villain over the past month?

 

[Sifaka]

Why does it feel like Hannah Hidalgo has gone from hero to villain over the past month?

When did she declare that some others' marriages are sinful?