Notre Dame 2024-25 Season

[cancontent]

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

It's the easiest assumption to make for some is how I see it. Her demeanour doesn't work for quite a few on the board.

 

[yhun89]

Wow. Notre Dame is imploding.

Is Hannah really the poison in the locker room? Or does Kate feel she didn’t develop well at ND, as does Risch?

 

[Geew1992]

It's the easiest assumption to make for some is how I see it. Her demeanour doesn't work for quite a few on the board.

There’s def a lot going on with her

 

[cancontent]

There’s def a lot going on with her

What are you implying?

 

[Geew1992]

What are you implying?

Not sure it’s allowed her. Twitter has said a lot

 

[Dillon77]

Not sure it’s allowed her. Twitter has said a lot

Aw' c'mon, don't dish/hint, but not tell. Don't want to be known as a tease.

 

[Dillon77]

Well, it's been quite an April Fool's Day...ugh.
I covered what I thought of Olivia Miles' departure in the Olivia Miles thread and that of Emma Risch on the transfer portal.
Now, regarding Ms. Kate Koval:
We're never going to know all the reasons for this decision, but on the fan looking in face of it:

• Kate started the first 10 games of the year and while doing so, ND had a solid record. She was among the top blockers in the country and rebounding at a respectable level, while blocking out forwards for Liatu King and the guards to swoop in.
• Once ND's two power forwards, Liza Karlen and Maddy Westbeld, came back, Koval not only didn't start, she was relegated to playing 10 minutes per game at best. Unfortunately for ND (in the long run), the Irish went on a roll and Ivey went with what was working. When they lost to NC State, FSU and Duke, Ivey started getting Koval some minutes, realizing -- hey, Kate does help in the middle -- and she was in the rotation in the NCAA's.
• Now, Koval was probably slated to start next year...and/or play major minutes with returning center (we hope) Kylee Watson.

But she is leaving. For what, I don't know for sure, but if it's related to the cha-cha developmental dance Ivey put her through, I can't say I blame her.
- Koval needs to get her stamina down and work on some basics, but that was something Carole Owens was supposed to supply. I was hoping a Natalie Achonwa might come back and work with her. Ace is younger, perhaps easier to relate to, yet is a taskmaster.

Maybe, ND will get lucky like it did with KK Bransford, who entered the portal, but decided to stay. But I'm not optimistic. End of this day can't come soon enough.

 

[TheFarmFan]

Well, it's been quite an April Fool's Day...ugh.
I covered what I thought of Olivia Miles' departure in the Olivia Miles thread and that of Emma Risch on the transfer portal.
Now, regarding Ms. Kate Koval:
We're never going to know all the reasons for this decision, but on the fan looking in face of it:

• Kate started the first 10 games of the year and while doing so, ND had a solid record. She was among the top blockers in the country and rebounding at a respectable level, while blocking out forwards for Liatu King and the guards to swoop in.
• Once ND's two power forwards, Liza Karlen and Maddy Westbeld, came back, Koval not only didn't start, she was relegated to playing 10 minutes per game at best. Unfortunately for ND (in the long run), the Irish went on a roll and Ivey went with what was working. When they lost to NC State, FSU and Duke, Ivey started getting Koval some minutes, realizing -- hey, Kate does help in the middle -- and she was in the rotation in the NCAA's.
• Now, Koval was probably slated to start next year...and/or play major minutes with returning center (we hope) Kylee Watson.

But she is leaving. For what, I don't know for sure, but if it's related to the cha-cha developmental dance Ivey put her through, I can't say I blame her.
- Koval needs to get her stamina down and work on some basics, but that was something Carole Owens was supposed to supply. I was hoping a Natalie Achonwa might come back and work with her. Ace is younger, perhaps easier to relate to, yet is a taskmaster.

Maybe, ND will get lucky like it did with KK Bransford, who entered the portal, but decided to stay. But I'm not optimistic. End of this day can't come soon enough.

Nice analysis, thanks. To me the question is whether this is based on the past, or the future and specifically what Ivey told her in the year-end exit interview. If it was, "you may be battling Kylie for minutes at the 5 next season but I see major playing time for you," then I could maybe see it.

But if Koval is mostly aggrieved by her playing time this season, well, I'm not that sympathetic, and she reminds me of another highly top 5 post who transferred post freshman year: Lauren Betts. Both had freshman seasons pretty similar: naturally talented, solid shot blockers, not great at holding onto the ball (leading to turnovers), seemingly slow to keep up, and behind several more senior posts. (Betts was a more reliable scorer within 2 feet of the basket, which is what 2 inches of height and 6 inches of extra wingspan get you.)

But just as Betts was visibly winded all the time as a freshman, Koval often seemed a step behind. And when your offense features fast break players like HH, OM, and Citron, that's a real liability, and I don't blame Ivey for going with King and Westbeld, who are a step faster, and more mobile.

Mostly, I just find it sad that every highly touted freshman these days seems to think she deserves 30 minutes a game from day one or else she'll bounce. But wish her well wherever she lands.

 

[cancontent]

Not sure it’s allowed her. Twitter has said a lot

Twitter is the source you want to reference?

 

[Geew1992]

Twitter is the source you want to reference?

Also Hannah’s instagram posts

 

[maple]

Twitter is the source you want to reference?

When Twitter is just reposting screenshots of the players' social media posts, it's a little more reliable. At least those you can go and check for yourself.

 

[cancontent]

Also Hannah’s instagram posts

Which indicate what? That she's busy promoting various sponsors, recent acknowledgements and/or accomplishments? Random stories posted by an 18/19 year old enjoying her life?

 

[Reypl21]

I'm going to say this regarding Risch and Koval. It was probably hard seeing a future at ND where you would shine. For Emma, Niele prefers athletic guards who can create their own shots and defend on the perimeter. Her half-court offense hardly generates open looks. The open looks are created by the guards making plays. For the most part. She was a poor defender. She hardly got playing time when she was healthy (looking at the Cayman Island games where the guards need rest and Niele kept her on the bench). She was relegated to garbage minutes. Do you trust Niele is going to instill an offense that plays to your strengths? Or are you at the wrong school?

For Kate, is she in the right place? Our offense is supposed to be all about the fast break. She never really got comfortable in the half court or low post. She had an outside shot in HS and she never used it. Niele prefers athletic bigs defensively. Do you trust Niele to be able to create an offense in the future that can bring out your strengths? Am I developing? Her minutes dwindled as the season went on, and she had a short leash due to other upper classmen bigs being in the rotation.

Maybe most importantly, do you want to play with Hannah? She has free reigns to jack up every shot, play out of control, and doesn't get pulled. In fact, she's encouraged to do so. While the two of them get yanked for every mistake. Judging from Niele's offense against elite teams, I don't think they have confidence in Niele's ability to feature their talents. She hasn't shown the ability to adapt her coaching to the players she has. The future is foggy on their roles, but you know Hannah is going to try and average 30 next year. This is the best option for them IMO.

 

[cancontent]

When Twitter is just reposting screenshots of the players' social media posts, it's a little more reliable. At least those you can go and check for yourself.

Also Hannah’s instagram posts

Which still doesn't mean that these actions were the reason. We can suspect all we want but we can't say this was the reason unless someone on the team confirms it.

No different than what some of us suspect as the reason why players are leaving Old Miss. Or what some were assuming when Watkins was dealing with her arrest issue. Everyone is entitled to their opinion based on how they're seeing things, but it doesn't make it fact.

 

[Dillon77]

Nice analysis, thanks. To me the question is whether this is based on the past, or the future and specifically what Ivey told her in the year-end exit interview. If it was, "you may be battling Kylie for minutes at the 5 next season but I see major playing time for you," then I could maybe see it.

But if Koval is mostly aggrieved by her playing time this season, well, I'm not that sympathetic, and she reminds me of another highly top 5 post who transferred post freshman year: Lauren Betts. Both had freshman seasons pretty similar: naturally talented, solid shot blockers, not great at holding onto the ball (leading to turnovers), seemingly slow to keep up, and behind several more senior posts. (Betts was a more reliable scorer within 2 feet of the basket, which is what 2 inches of height and 6 inches of extra wingspan get you.)

But just as Betts was visibly winded all the time as a freshman, Koval often seemed a step behind. And when your offense features fast break players like HH, OM, and Citron, that's a real liability, and I don't blame Ivey for going with King and Westbeld, who are a step faster, and more mobile.

Mostly, I just find it sad that every highly touted freshman these days seems to think she deserves 30 minutes a game from day one or else she'll bounce. But wish her well wherever she lands.

Fair enough.

• No doubt she needs to work on a lot of things, from conditioning to receiving the ball and getting it to the next step (shooting, passing) to decision-making.
• But it became very apparent that she could anchor the Irish defense with her sheer size (see Betts, Lauren) and an ability to block shots.

That, too, is very important to Ivey's transition defense....you need the ball to run in unsettled situations.
- I agree with you regarding the state of operations when frosh/underclassmen bolt after a year or two because they think they should be on the court now, regardless of the actual contributions.
but
- Ivey spent a lot of time and effort recruiting this center, played her early and often and then shut it down. That may have been a cause for the departure. Maybe not. Let's hope Kylee Watson returns to offer her rebounding and defensive prowess...not to mention her leadership abilities.

(BTW, we'll have something in common if Koval ends up at U$C, joining her Lutheran High School teammate Kayleigh Heckel.)

 

[Vowelguy]

Which indicate what? That she's busy promoting various sponsors, recent acknowledgements and/or accomplishments? Random stories posted by an 18/19 year old enjoying her life?

At a quick glance there are a few references to “morality” and s e X.
I could see that causing friction.

 

[maple]

Which still doesn't mean that these actions were the reason. We can suspect all we want but we can't say this was the reason unless someone on the team confirms it.

No different than what some of us suspect as the reason why players are leaving Old Miss. Or what some were assuming when Watkins was dealing with her arrest issue. Everyone is entitled to their opinion based on how they're seeing things, but it doesn't make it fact.

To clarify, I wasn’t saying that those were the reasons per se, I was simply stating that Twitter isn’t always just speculation.

 

[maple]

At a quick glance there are a few references to “morality” and s e X.
I could see that causing friction.

Now this is getting into speculation, but Miles reposted something very recently on her social media (TikTok) that said something to affect of, “you can’t treat people badly and then hide behind religion”. So. It is possible. But who knows. She could technically have been talking about anyone.

Anyway, that’s all I’ll say because I don’t want to get in trouble.

 

[cancontent]

At a quick glance there are a few references to “morality” and s e X.
I could see that causing friction.

1). Doesn't mean it did in this case.

2). Considering the school they're attending, wouldn't there be friction regardless?

While I'm good with people being who they are and loving who they want, not everybody does and they're entitled to that opinion.

Considering who is transferring out, it's a stretch to place it solely on Hildago. Risch has unfortunately been injury prone. There are rumours that Koval wasn't happy with how she will be developed and playing time. Whatever happened, Hildago's personality is not the sole reason, in my opinion

 

[TheFarmFan]

1). Doesn't mean it did in this case.

2). Considering the school they're attending, wouldn't there be friction regardless?

While I'm good with people being who they are and loving who they want, not everybody does and they're entitled to that opinion.

Considering who is transferring out, it's a stretch to place it solely on Hildago. Risch has unfortunately been injury prone. There are rumours that Koval wasn't happy with how she will be developed and playing time. Whatever happened, Hildago's personality is not the sole reason, in my opinion

All I'll say is, Hidalgo has to know the demographics of the professional sport she wants to play, and the fans who watch (and pay for) that sport. Whatever your views of morality are, biting the hand that feeds you is mighty foolish. My enthusiasm about HH has been tempered accordingly, and I'm just a little bit more excited to see OM's next step.

 

[WLT1717]

I’m just going to miss watching Soni Citron. I envy Dillon being able to catch all the games, and maybe some in person. Whenever I’ve seen her play she always has that steady, assured, gamer approach. Her combination of temperament and skill, maturity, versatility, and competitiveness is incredibly rare. I’m trying to recall another player like her. I hope she sticks on a WNBA roster as I think her best is yet to come.

 

[Vowelguy]

they're entitled to that opinion.

Yes, everyone is entitled to their opinion. But if you're not mindful of others' feelings, it's not gonna be great for team chemistry.

If you're on a team in a deep red political area, you should realize that saying negative things about the president is probably not going to go over well with many of your teammates.

 

[TheFarmFan]

I’m just going to miss watching Soni Citron. I envy Dillon being able to catch all the games, and maybe some in person. Whenever I’ve seen her play she always has that steady, assured, gamer approach. Her combination of temperament and skill, maturity, versatility, and competitiveness is incredibly rare. I’m trying to recall another player like her. I hope she sticks on a WNBA roster as I think her best is yet to come.

Amen. I'm praying Seattle and DC overlook Citron and she is unclaimed by pick 5, cause I'd sure love to see her in a Valks uniform. She seems super gritty, which is the vibe I'm getting from our coach and crew.

 

[packwrap]

Amen. I'm praying Seattle and DC overlook Citron and she is unclaimed by pick 5, cause I'd sure love to see her in a Valks uniform. She seems super gritty, which is the vibe I'm getting from our coach and crew.

Citron is a gamer. Most criticism of her is that her scoring wasn't consistent or high enough, or that she is good at everything, but great at nothing.

What critics miss is first her willingness to help team by fitting to needs, and second she can be excellent if given a specific role.

She can play point full time! Just made no sense at ND. At 6'2" with shooting and rebounding that's a nice point.

3 and D? Want spacing off ball, she can guard 1-4 and shoot 40% from 3.

Scoring? If instructed, she can get you 20 with 3 level skills.

It's up to WNBA coach how to use her, but she is very versatile and better than her 24/25 ncaa stats. Whoever gets her will be thrilled.

 

[Geew1992]

Which still doesn't mean that these actions were the reason. We can suspect all we want but we can't say this was the reason unless someone on the team confirms it.

No different than what some of us suspect as the reason why players are leaving Old Miss. Or what some were assuming when Watkins was dealing with her arrest issue. Everyone is entitled to their opinion based on how they're seeing things, but it doesn't make it fact.

I’m not that’s the reason. But I am giving a suggestion of what the reason may be.