Miles is a real basketball savant, somebody who admits she doesn’t have a selected strategy relating to her type of play, however as an alternative sees the court docket as her canvas. “I see basketball as artwork,” she says. “I feel I’ve a canvas, and I will be the artist and use my creativity in ways in which you do not actually see fairly often. Hannah does slightly little bit of the identical. We have now such nice, nice gamers on our crew that even have nice imaginative and prescient. So, it is simply enjoyable to play with individuals who can discover you and be inventive with the sport, as an alternative of simply, like, cross, shoot, layup. We wish to make it enjoyable as an alternative of so elementary on a regular basis.”
Hannah describes Miles’ recreation as “clutch and flashy,” but it surely’s honest to say we haven’t seen Miles at her most inventive simply but. She reveals that she doesn’t even really feel absolutely again, which is to be anticipated from somebody who was on the sidelines for a yr. How precisely will she know when she’s her full self once more on the court docket? “Not being sore mid-game or, like, desirous to die within the fourth quarter. That is positively a begin,” she says. “I feel making it via a full recreation could be very tough, and anybody getting back from an damage is aware of that. I feel there are ranges to this, and I am barely even midway via the season but, so I am simply giving myself grace. I am trusting I will be again in due time.”
The yr Miles was out was the identical yr Hidalgo arrived. To carry your personal as a freshman is one factor, however to be tasked with main the crew and bringing vitality again to this system with its star out? That takes somebody on a wholly totally 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 feel coming into school, I [knew] it was gonna be quite a bit, particularly with Liv taking place,” she says. “It was gonna be lots of taking over such a dominant crew, such a robust crew and simply main that crew as a freshman. Coach Ivey, she had instilled lots of belief in me earlier than I even received right here. She had instructed 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 she or he 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 deliver Hannah to their 6:00 a.m. crew exercises and lifts and, most notably, helped her put together her for what was forward. “Being a freshman, not realizing anyone, having Liv there to say, You may’t get this individual the ball once 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 you must 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 form of determine it out, study on her personal,” Miles tells us, including: “I have been in her footwear earlier than she was right here, but it surely was simply unbelievable to form of see what she did in that rookie yr—main such a robust crew, 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 recreation. 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 recreation (the latter of which additionally led the nation). That season, she totaled 160 steals, which broke a program document beforehand set by none apart from Diggins-Smith. Talking of which: “She simply received 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 each side of the basketball, cares about each 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 recreation. She performs in a method 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 essentially the most insane vitality performs,” Miles says. “In that tweet, I stated, I simply be laughing. I am at half-court—like, verify the movies. I simply snicker, 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 immediately. 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 recreation to a totally totally different degree in her sophomore season, at present averaging 25.7 factors on 50.4 p.c taking pictures from the sphere. She ranks second within the nation in factors per recreation. “I feel essentially the most deadly half [of my game] is my potential to attain over greater 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 each side of the ball,” Hidalgo continues.
They’re each artists in their very own methods, distinctive and artistic. However what occurs on the court docket once 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 cross to Hidalgo towards Wake Forest, or the time Hidalgo dished out a behind-her-head cross to Miles for a fastbreak layup. It’s loopy to suppose that that is solely their first yr taking part in collectively.
“It is laborious to explain,” Miles says, when requested about their type of play collectively. “It simply occurs.” To which Hidalgo provides: “I feel it is simply two prime guards studying one another. While 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 yr, however that’s neither right here nor there. What the Irish are targeted on proper now’s successful all of it.
“The job is simply beginning, it is not completed but,” Miles says. “Consistency is the largest assertion we are able to make. We have struggled with that in years prior, going out early within the match, not after we ought to have, dropping to groups that we in all probability should not have as effectively. Simply being constant and bringing our similar id day by day is an announcement for us.”
Provides Hannah: “This yr is the time to take all of it the best way and win all of it.”
