SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Whose head wouldn’t be spinning?
Everything’s new — city, college-level classes, roommates, teammates …
Oh, yeah, and learn four positions on the basketball court.
Welcome to KK Bransford’s life since she arrived on Notre Dame’s campus from Mount Notre Dame High School in Cincinnati, Ohio.
And just how much the 5-foot-11 guard/forward grows up in the next few weeks figures to go a long way in determining how far this Olivia Miles-less Irish team, 25-5 and ranked 11th in the country, can advance in the NCAA Tournament.
Play opens Friday for the No. 3-seeded Irish in Purcell Pavilion at 3:30 (ESPN2) against a 23-9, 14th-seeded Southern Utah team making its first appearance ever in the NCAAs. No. 11 seed Mississippi State (21-10) and No. 6 seed Creighton (22-8) follow at Purcell at 6 p.m., with the winners meeting at Purcell Sunday at a time to be determined.
Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey on Thursday finally ruled Miles out for the rest of the season as a result of a knee injury the sophomore All-America point guard suffered in the Feb. 26 regular-season finale at Louisville, a 68-65 Irish win.
Ivey declined to specify the nature of the injury on Thursday, but said Miles would undergo surgery late next week and would be expected back for summer workouts.
With Miles’ absence now a definite, whatever adjustments Bransford has had to make to date in taking on different roles pales to what’s ahead.
More pressure is coming.
Louisville made sure of that.
When the Irish lost the gifted Miles just before halftime at Louisville on Feb. 26, it was Sonia Citron and Bransford who moved in to take over most of the point guard responsibilities in ACC Tournament games against North Carolina State (66-60 win) and Louisville (64-38 loss).
Louisville went after ND’s new point guards with ferocity — early pressure, double teams, traps — and it completely dismantled the Irish offense.
“Louisville, it wasn't our best game as a team and for me just being able to step up as a ball-handler,” Bransford said during Thursday’s press conference in the Monogram Room at Purcell Pavilion.
“That was my first game, I would say, (facing) a lot of pressure. We've had games — when Olivia went out during that (earlier) Louisville game, they didn't apply that same kind of pressure. So just learning from that, and we've worked a lot in practice with pressure, because we think a lot of teams are going to use that to their advantage.”
Bransford, averaging eight points a game, has played in all 30 games and started nine. The two-time former Ohio Miss Basketball has totaled 47 turnovers, but a dozen came in the last two games, including eight against that Louisville storm that also forced an uncharacteristic 1-for-7 showing from the field.
Her basketball IQ is something Ivey touted prior to the start of the season and it has shown. But just as important is her demeanor and knowing her game. Freshmen don’t often shoot 49% from the field. She rarely takes bad shots. Most of her points have come on mid-range jumpers and fearless work around the basketball against much taller players.
“I'm really impressed by her maturity,” Ivey said “She has a quiet leadership. She's my freshman that's talking on the side all the time. She wants to win, she's competitive, and she plays for her teammates. … I've pretty much thrown everything at her and she's accepted all these roles.
“She's the type of player that can impact the game on both sides of the ball. And I love that her confidence has gained. With the way that teams are guarding us, she's been working on her game, working on her shot, and now I feel like she's more comfortable being in these scenarios.”
If there’s 3-point shooting in Bransford’s future, it’s down the road with a lot of work to reach a comfort level. To date, she’s 1-for-11.
The Irish can move through the tourney without 3s from her, but not without better ball protection and ability to get the ball inside to forwards Maddy Westbeld and Kylee Watson, and center Lauren Ebo.
The more Bransford can provide from the point, the more scoring the Irish can get from Citron, more comfortable and effective as a two guard.
Bransford is getting extra help from two new coaches.
“Olivia and Dara (Mabrey, out with knee injury) are still in my ear helping me out, because for me it's a tough task,” Bransford said.
Without prompting, Westbeld jumped in.
“I think what KK has brought to the table this year is everything,” she said. “From the beginning of the season, she started out as a four (power forward) and she was playing the high post and being literally everywhere on the court, knowing every position, and now she's expected to bring the ball up the court.
“She's one of the most courageous players I've ever played with, because she's a freshman and she's never been through this. So, yeah, any role that coach has brought to her, I think she's done it in such a great way. Yeah, I just wanted to bring that up.”
So, how do you retool in a short time to get new primary ball-handlers acclimated to the pressure that’s coming from a steady flow of talented defenders?
Miles’ elite point guard skills won’t be replaced by either Citron or Bransford.
Ivey met with players individually after breaking down the Louisville film to focus where the response went wrong.
Better preparation can make for better decision-making.
And then she ramped up the pressure in practice.
“Half-court execution is something that we worked on a lot, putting my guards in scenarios that before they didn't have to decide or make decisions in,” Ivey said. “So, just making sure that they're ready for those moments. I've kind of adjusted the offense a little bit. We've worked on a ton of screening action, shooting action, a lot of fundamental stuff.”
“I thought (KK) had a really great week of getting better, handling the pressure and making decisions with a ton of pressure,” Ivey added. “I think that's going to help her once we see the different things and different defensive schemes that we're going to see, even tomorrow.”
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