Miles is a real basketball savant, somebody who admits she doesn’t have a selected strategy in terms of her type of play, however as an alternative sees the courtroom as her canvas. “I see basketball as artwork,” she says. “I believe I’ve a canvas, and I can be the artist and use my creativity in ways in which you do not actually see fairly often. Hannah does a little bit little bit of the identical. We’ve got such nice, nice gamers on our workforce that even have nice imaginative and prescient. So, it is simply enjoyable to play with individuals who can discover you and be artistic with the sport, as an alternative of simply, like, go, shoot, layup. We prefer to make it enjoyable as an alternative of so elementary on a regular basis.”
Hannah describes Miles’ sport as “clutch and flashy,” but it surely’s honest to say we haven’t seen Miles at her most artistic simply but. She reveals that she doesn’t even really feel totally again, which is to be anticipated from somebody who was on the sidelines for a 12 months. How precisely will she know when she’s her full self once more on the courtroom? “Not being sore mid-game or, like, eager to die within the fourth quarter. That is positively a begin,” she says. “I believe making it by a full sport may be very troublesome, and anybody getting back from an damage is aware of that. I believe there are ranges to this, and I am barely even midway by the season but, so I am simply giving myself grace. I am trusting I will be again in due time.”
The 12 months Miles was out was the identical 12 months Hidalgo arrived. To carry your personal as a freshman is one factor, however to be tasked with main the workforce and bringing power again to this system with its star out? That takes somebody on a completely completely different wavelength.
The excellent news for the Irish is that Hannah is an entity. As a drive of nature, Hidalgo wasn’t afraid of the second. She owned it. “I believe coming into school, I [knew] it was gonna be quite a bit, particularly with Liv happening,” she says. “It was gonna be a variety of taking up such a dominant workforce, such a robust workforce and simply main that workforce as a freshman. Coach Ivey, she had instilled a variety of belief in me earlier than I even acquired right here. She had advised me she was giving me the keys and it was going to be quite a bit, however she knew what it was and knew who I used to be, and he or she had trusted me quite a bit.”
Throughout coaching and exercises in the summertime main as much as this season, Liv took on the function of mentor with Hidalgo. She’d carry Hannah to their 6:00 a.m. workforce exercises and lifts and, most notably, helped her put together her for what was forward. “Being a freshman, not understanding anyone, having Liv there to say, You possibly can’t get this particular person the ball after they’re working right here, they don’t seem to be gonna have the ability to catch it. Or, Sonia likes the ball on this spot. That is what this participant likes. That is how it’s best to search for this participant. It was actually useful.”
All of the whereas, Miles knew that in some ways, Hidalgo additionally needed to simply go on the market and determine issues out. “I positively let Hannah type of determine it out, be taught on her personal,” Miles tells us, including: “I have been in her sneakers earlier than she was right here, but it surely was simply unimaginable to type of see what she did in that rookie 12 months—main such a strong workforce, as she stated, and figuring it out alongside the best way.”
And he or she positively did. With unmatched velocity and flexibility on each ends of the ground, Hidalgo put the school basketball world on discover along with her all-around sport. She packed the stat sheet with numbers nobody had ever seen earlier than: from quite a few 30-pieces, together with towards UConn and Georgia Tech, to program single-season data of twenty-two.6 factors and 4.6 steals per sport (the latter of which additionally led the nation). That season, she totaled 160 steals, which broke a program file beforehand set by none aside from Diggins-Smith. Talking of which: “She simply acquired it right here [pointing to her heart],” Sky stated just lately about Hannah whereas on Angel Reese’s podcast, Unapologetically Angel. “Simply fearless, can play either side of the basketball, cares about either side of the basketball. That’s not at all times the case.”
Reese clearly agreed: “A killer.”
Miles has used—and tweeted—the phrase “menace” to explain Hidalgo’s sport. She performs in a manner that’s so unafraid, it actually doesn’t matter who she’s guarding or who’s guarding her. HH goes to get a bucket (or a steal) each single time.
“It’s simply probably the most insane power performs,” Miles says. “In that tweet, I stated, I simply be laughing. I am at half-court—like, examine the movies. I simply giggle, as a result of it is simply humorous what she does to individuals and simply in her cute little, like, uppity self, she simply runs round after which will get again on protection instantly. Simply so unassuming. That’s simply such a menace to me. You get fired up.”
Whereas everybody sees greatness in her, what issues most is that Hidalgo sees it in herself. She’s taken her sport to a very completely different degree in her sophomore season, presently averaging 25.7 factors on 50.4 % capturing from the sector. She ranks second within the nation in factors per sport. “I believe probably the most deadly half [of my game] is my means to attain over larger defenders, and my protection, in fact,” she says.
“Duh,” Liv chimes in.
“Protection is sort of a misplaced artwork in and of itself. Not lots of people wish to play either side of the ball,” Hidalgo continues.
They’re each artists in their very own methods, distinctive and artistic. However what occurs on the courtroom after they’re collectively is the results of pure collaboration. Their reads to one another appear to be related by an invisible string, like when Olivia despatched a full-court hail mary go to Hidalgo towards Wake Forest, or the time Hidalgo dished out a behind-her-head go to Miles for a fastbreak layup. It’s loopy to assume that that is solely their first 12 months taking part in collectively.
“It is arduous to explain,” Miles says, when requested about their type of play collectively. “It simply occurs.” To which Hidalgo provides: “I believe it is simply two prime guards studying one another. If you’re taking part in with one other nice guard, it is one thing that you’d do additionally. You are prepared for it. You are anticipating it, in comparison with, like, an enormous who may not have performed with one other prime guard.”
As for what occurs subsequent, solely time will inform. Miles has but to announce whether or not she’ll declare for the 2025 WNBA Draft or return to Notre Dame subsequent 12 months, however that’s neither right here nor there. What the Irish are centered on proper now could be profitable all of it.
“The job is simply beginning, it is not completed but,” Miles says. “Consistency is the most important assertion we will make. We have struggled with that in years prior, going out early within the match, not once we ought to have, shedding to groups that we in all probability should not have as properly. Simply being constant and bringing our similar id every single day is a press release for us.”
Provides Hannah: “This 12 months is the time to take all of it the best way and win all of it.”
