SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Muffet McGraw’s mind was disheveled and her heart still stinging as she tried to collect her thoughts on Sunday’s momentous unveiling of a statue of her likeness and in her honor outside of Notre Dame’s Purcell Pavilion.
The Hall of Fame Irish women’s basketball coach, four years removed from her 33rd and final season at ND, had just come from a drive-thru event at the Food Bank of Northern Indiana in South Bend, where she helped hand out donated food to roughly 300 families who had waited patiently in a snaking line of cars.
Then she and the other volunteers had to tell the drivers of the 100 vehicles still waiting there was no more food left.
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“So there's a really, really big need in our community,” she told Inside ND Sports earlier this week, “and it's a generous community. But I wish people would volunteer more. Think about the food bank.”
McGraw started socially distanced food drives in the area during the COVID-19 pandemic, where she’d drive through neighborhoods she had targeted and pick up food that families left on the curb for her to bring to the Foodbank.
Then, the Notre Dame alumni were inspired enough to mimic that all across the country.
“Meals with Muffet,” she beamed.
Even when she was amassing 936 wins (848 of them at ND), 11 30-victory seasons, nine NCAA Final Fours and two national championships, McGraw’s reach beyond basketball was as powerful and enduring as it was within the sport. And she toggled between those two worlds seamlessly.
The 15-minute unveiling ceremony starts at 10:45 a.m. (EST) on Sunday, with Notre Dame’s first women’s basketball meeting with rival Purdue in seven seasons to follow at noon.
Inside ND Sports caught up with McGraw ahead of the statue ceremony to get her thoughts on that, the state of ND women’s hoops, freshman Hannah Hidalgo, NIL and the transfer portal, and many more topics about which she is hardly indifferent.
And in the process, she revealed some news involving son Murphy and daughter-in-law Francesca.
“Oh my God, we're going to be grandparents,” she said. “Big news. We just started telling people. They’re due in April. And of course this is our first, and so we're thrilled.”
Q: Let me start with the statute itself. How did you find out that the powers-that-be at Notre Dame were thinking about wanting to do this?
MM: “Well, a couple years ago when I got into the Ring of Honor, [athletic director] Jack Swarbrick announced it on the court, when we were doing the raising the banner for that. So, he just said, ‘There will be a statue.’ He didn’t say when. That was two years ago.”
Q: So when you heard that, what was your reaction, that you were going to have a statue?
MM: “I mean, it was very overwhelming and humbling. And it was so far in the future, it's kind of like, ‘Maybe it'll happen. I don't know when.’ So, I don't think I spent a lot of time thinking about it.”
Q: Now, as it's almost here on top of us, what do you hope it represents? Like, when people look at that statue, what do you hope they think of?
MM: “Well, first, I think it's great for women to have a woman recognized on campus, and I think my pose is kind of a ‘fearless woman’ pose. So, I hope people think strong women are a big part of Notre Dame. I think it's been kind of a long time coming for women to be recognized on campus.”
Q: So, did you help choose the pose or did somebody suggest it?
MM: “Well, the sculptor — who we were thrilled was a woman. We were looking for a woman to do it. Ann Hirsch was somebody that we really loved her work. So, she had some great ideas, and she was the one that wanted to do the ‘fearless woman’ pose. I definitely didn't want to be in a crouch, which everybody was wondering about. There were a couple of things/ideas, like I pointed a lot in a lot of pictures. And so, I think this one came out good. My hands are kind of on my hips, just sort of looking out.”
Q: Is this an accident that it's the Purdue game? Or is it intentional, because Purdue, to me, for the program’s ascent, is so significant?
MM: “It was an accident. It was supposed to be done during the football season, and we were targeting the last home game [Nov. 18 vs. Wake Forest]. And then it wasn't ready. So, we could have done it, I guess, for the Lafayette [women’s basketball] game, but it was a weeknight. So, we really chose this one, because it was a Sunday and it was a better game, and pretty appropriate with us winning a national championship by beating Purdue [in 2001]. It was so kind of fun that it turned out that way."
Q: I know you're busy with being an analyst and commentator for the ACC Network, but how frequently are you able to get to Notre Dame women’s basketball games?
MM: “Yeah, so I'm generally working when they’re playing. Even when I'm not on the air, I kind of have to watch it [on TV]. I’m working Thursdays and Sundays this year. Last year, we went to the Connecticut game and the Duke game, and that was all my schedule allowed. So, I do still go to some of the bigger games, but it's generally that I'm watching another game [on TV] at the same time.”
Q: What are your thoughts about where Niele Ivey, one of your former players and longtime assistant coaches, has taken the program, now in her fourth season?
MM: “She was always a terrific recruiter, and that has not changed at all. Kids want to play for her. She's a player's coach. I think they can really relate to her. And as far as the X's and O's, she's learned so much. I loved watching her grow. You know, as she came in [as an assistant coach], I said, ‘You’ve got one job — get us Skylar Diggins. That was your job for the year, nothing else.’
“She started doing more and more, then she was scouting the best teams and she was in charge of the game plan for those games. She just continued to grow. And then that year in Memphis [as an NBA assistant coach in 2019-20], I think was just really, really great for her — to see how the NBA does things, and she learned a lot from that. So, I think she's a terrific game coach. She makes great adjustments. And I think she understands team chemistry and how important that is.”
Q: Because you were a point guard, I'll ask you about a specific player on the team — your impressions of freshman Hannah Hidalgo?
MM: “The thing I love most about her is her defense. And she reminds me of Skylar in that way, that she can change, really, the entire game by making the offense uncomfortable, because she greets him at half court. And she can really change things, because we're not a great defensive team. So, it's good to have somebody that can really get on the ball.
“I think she is very confident. She's not afraid to make mistakes. She can score and she can also distribute and get people involved. I think for a freshman, she's playing at a really high level. Definitely, one of the best freshmen in the country. I think she should win Rookie of the Year award in the conference pretty easily. But I think nationally, she's not just the best freshman in the country. She's one of the best players. So, I've been really impressed with what she's done.”
Q: It seems like you're still so plugged into basketball, in part because of your ACC Network job. Have you had a chance to miss coaching at all?
MM: “No, I don't miss it at all. I've had plenty of opportunities, and I did not miss it. I’ve really been giving Niele space. I mean, I don't ever go to practice. Of course, I’m right here if she needs me, and we certainly talk, but I really wanted to give her that space and let her kind of thrive on her own.”
Q: Are you still doing any teaching at Notre Dame? Do you have a class still?
MM: “Yeah. I still have my Sports Leadership class.”
Q: And what kinds of things do you teach in the Sports Leadership class? What's the most important message?
MM: “Basically, everything I've learned in coaching. We talk about emotional intelligence, which I think is really interesting for this generation. We talk about culture. How do you measure championship culture? What does championship culture look like? We read things, like “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” [by Patrick Lencioni].
“We talk a lot about 2018 [a national championship season]. Just the traits of a championship team, how they're different than teams that are congenial and comfortable and don't challenge each other. We talk about traits of leaders and talk a lot about teamwork. And we do group projects and things to let them learn about that, but really it's everything I've learned in 40 years of coaching.”
Q: So, if you were still coaching, what would you think about NIL and the transfer portal?
MM: “I really hate them, because our job as coaches is we’re educators. We're more than coaches, and you're teaching these kids life skills. You're teaching them about mental toughness, perseverance, how to get through injuries and things that happened to you. How to be paid for your opportunity. How to be a team player, How to be disciplined and focused.
“And I'm sorry that this generation is one where they just look and say, ‘Well, I didn't get what I wanted immediately.’ You know, they're into instant gratification — get what you want — and the grass is always greener. So, they up and leave. And I feel like they're not learning anything by doing that. They go somewhere else, and then they get up and leave there.
“And, you know, they’re at three or four different schools, and I don't know what we're teaching. What are they learning from that experience? That I can just quit anytime I want to? So, I'm disappointed in that. And I think there's great reasons to transfer, and I think the grad transfer thing is a great idea. I mean, people, they're not playing. Maybe they got in over their head or they maybe shouldn't have been recruited by that coach, because they're a different style. There’s a lot of good reasons to transfer, but not just because things aren't going my way.
“And the NIL, I would love for players to be able to make money. When Skylar wore her headband, I thought, ‘Man, she should have a cut of that at the bookstore if people are buying headbands, because it's something that she did.’ But now you just call a school and go, ‘I want to transfer. How much are you giving me?’
“And they talk money, on the phone. It's not about: What do you have? What am I going to major in? Where do I fit? What can I do for you? How can I help your team? How can I help you — when it's just all about me, and it's about how much money I can get. And I think we're in a real crisis right now in athletics. I think [new NCAA president] Charlie Baker is going to try and fix it. I think he's the guy for the job. I think he can really make some strides. But the courts, every time we turn around, they're saying, ‘Nope, that's illegal. You can't limit that.’
“So, it's, it's really been an uphill battle, but I'm not opposed to players making money. It's just how they're doing it right now, like donors saying, ‘Here's a million dollars. Play quarterback for me.’ I don't think that was the intent.
“And only 25 schools in the country are making money. People look at the schools and say, ‘Well, they got all this money coming in.’ They really don't. And by the time football gives it to women's basketball and men's soccer and all the other sports at Notre Dame, there's not a whole lot left. So, I think people just — I don't think they understand the business side of sports.”
Q: Speaking of the future of sports and so forth, have you met Pete Bevacqua? Do you know the incoming athletic director?
MM: “We actually met. I did something for the LPGA, but he was involved. So, we met him a couple of times. And I think he is a real people person. I think he really knows how to relate to people. With his jobs at NBC, he knows the media side. With the PGA [background], he understands the sports side of it. I think he was a student-athlete here. So, I think he gets it, and I think he'll do a great job. Jack [Swarbrick] is a tough act to follow. He was brilliant, and a lot of good things happened under his watch.”
Q: Besides everything you have going, what's next? Or are you just focused on what's going on now, with the teaching, with the ACC network, with playing golf and with keeping your husband, Matt, in line?
MM: “That’s the hardest part (laughing). You know, I'm enjoying my life. I really am. We're able to do other things. We have the summers to travel and do what we want, and I'm still involved in the game, which I want to do more to help, And that's something that now I have time to do.”
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