SOUTH BEND, Ind. — To stand out on a college basketball floor with just 5 foot, 6 inches of height takes some skills.
Special skills.
“Hannah, she’s a dog,” is how one of her much taller teammates, 6-2 sophomore guard Cassandre Prosper, described freshman Hannah Hidalgo during Notre Dame’s women’s basketball media day Tuesday at Purcell Pavilion.
That’s a good thing.
With All-America point guard Olivia Miles recovering from major knee surgery in mid-April, much will be asked of Hidalgo – and quickly, with the season opener set for Nov. 6 in Paris against South Carolina (No. 8 ESPN Way-Too-Early Top 25).
And there’s no reason to believe last winter’s McDonald’s All American High School Game co-MVP — following a 26-point, eight-steal show — can’t deliver.
The No. 5-ranked player nationally in the 2023 class, per ESPNw, has the high-level game, nerve and energy to help a talented, veteran group coalesce into the Top 10-or-better team that it’s expected to be.
“She’s a fantastic point guard,” said junior Sonia Citron (14.7 points per game last season), an All-ACC first-teamer and honorable mention All-American last season. “She’s someone who will just make you better.”
Not that she needed it, but Hidalgo picked up more confidence with her summer appearances in the U19 Women’s World Cup and Nike Hoop Summit.
“Playing against some of the best players definitely prepared me for what’s to come in the college season,” she said.
So has listening to Miles, who has counseled her to let mistakes go and play on.
“Try not to get frustrated, get a defensive stop and go make a play on defense if you mess up on offense,” Hidalgo explained.
Prosper, who graduated from high school early to join the Irish last December, also offers a template of sorts, after averaging five points, four rebounds and roughly a block and a steal per her nearly 22 minutes a game last season.
She also spent a good part of the summer playing against some high-level competition with Canada’s bronze-winning U19 team in the FIBA World Cup and Canada’s bronze-winning Senior Women’s National team.
Hidalgo watched how quickly Prosper got comfortable with the college game and her Notre Dame teammates last winter, “and I feel like I can do the same,” she said.
“I’m still learning about everybody, and still learning when to call what play and at what specific time, and who to feed and how to get certain people the ball. But I think it’s been a complete 360 since we started.”
It’s hard not to look ahead and at least imagine what a Miles-Hidalgo backcourt might look like – Citron calls it a “scary thought” — but it’s likely to be quite a few days down the road.
Miles, who is just beginning to run again, was on the floor at practice Tuesday, but only on the periphery, catching a pass here and there and offering advice to teammates.
“She’s doing great,” said head coach Niele Ivey of Miles, who also acknowledged that a redshirt year for Miles remains possible. “But it’s an individual healing process — everybody comes back differently at different times, but she’s doing really well.
“I have a plan if she’s back, whatever timeframe that is. I’m prepared for that. And if she’s not (coming back), I’m prepared for that as well.“
There is some luxury here with all but guard Dara Mabrey and center Lauren Ebo returning from a 27-6 team that was knocked out of the Sweet 16 with a 76-59 loss to Maryland.
They are significant losses, but likely offset by returning veterans like 6-1 Citron, 6-3 Maddy Westbeld (11.2 points), 6-4 Kylee Watson (6.8) and 6-5 Nat Marshall (3.5 points) to go with 5-11 sophomore guard KK Bransford (8.2) – plus additions Becky Obinma, a 6-2 Pepperdine grad transfer, 6-1 freshman Emma Risch, who brings a strong perimeter game, and 5-8 Fordham grad transfer Anna DeWolfe.
“It’s been super competitive,” Ivey said of practices. “I’m excited for the lineups, I’m excited for seeing different rotations. Cass brings a different layer, KK (Bransford) brings a different layer, Kylee looks amazing. … I look forward to having that depth.”
And Hidalgo.
“She’s picked up the offense, really, really well,” Ivey said. “They really want to win. And if that means different people playing different positions, it’s what they’re doing. Everyone is kind of helping Hannah, and Liv is helping really well from the sideline.
“Defense is something where I think we’ll be better. The two identities I want for our team are pushing pace — I talk about that every year. I think we’ll be fast, and even faster when Liv comes back. And I think we will play more aggressively. I would like to extend our defense.
“Having players like Hannah coming in, the way she can change the game with her defense, and also with Cass and everybody being in great shape, it will allow us to play faster. We can do more things defensively to disrupt offenses.”
The first look at this version of the Irish comes Oct. 30 (7 p.m.) in an exhibition game at home against Purdue Northwest.
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