Football is done and it's Basketball and Baseball/Softball etc. There is still some recruiting both NIL and freshmen as there is another signing date in early Feb. Then of course there are the Spring Drills and the Spring Game..
I forgot about our defending Nat'l Championship Lacrosse team, which will sport the last two football bowl game MVP on the roster. Tyler Buchner the MVP of the 2022 Gator Bowl and Jordan Faison the MVP of this years Sun Bowl. Bet there has never been a duo like that in history!!
Freshman Emma Risch, who was a top rated recruit for the women's basketball program along with Hannah Hildalgo,is slated to have season ending hip surgery. She hadn't played very much this year, it was hoped she'd be in the rotation at least as a 3 point shooter something that she excelled at as a High Schooler. She wasn't injured in a game and I have seen posts that claim it was a preexisting condition that was exacerbated in a practice and rehab wasn't making progress so that surgery was the best option. Hopefully she fully recovers and is able to return to the team next year. reportedly Sonia Citron who was injured in the 3rd game I think is getting close to being cleared to play. She is one of the top players in the nation and has been missed.
NC State @ Notre Dame getting ready to tip on ACCN. State is a very good team, would be another big upset if the Irish can pull out the win.
Here's a good article on the ND Women's basketball players who are injured. Notre Dame women's basketball midseason injury report on Olivia Miles
Brutal loss tonight. We lead the entire game and missed a couple of 1 and 1's late that would have sealed it, then we have problems with ball handling and State tied it at 52 with 4 secs left and they make the basket on a perfect pass to their big man in the paint who makes and easy shot for the win.
Irish women take on Pitt tonight in Purcell. I expect a nice bounce back win for them. Fewer turnovers for sure I hope!!
Did you watch, Sid? I did and at one point I thought we'd not only lose but would end up with 4 players on the court. I certainly hope Maddy Westbeld is OK, she looked a bit dazed and I thought uh concussion.
I watched the first quarter and second half. About halfway through the 4th we went ahead by just enough that we survived at the end. I agree re: MW looking dazed on the bench. Fingers crossed. EDIT: Apparently, Anna DeWolfe, whose crucial 3 lifted us at the end, scored her 2,000th career point with that 3. Most came at Fordham. Pretty amazing accomplishment.
We can all agree that Hannah Hildalgo has gotten off to a great start to her ND career. I just didn't realize how great it has been. In last 25 yrs, only one NBA, WNBA or D-I men's or women's player has had, in their entire career (same span or not), a 12-gm span w/ 280 pts a 12-gm span w/ 70 reb a 12-gm span w/ 70 ast a 12-gm span w/ 70 stl That player is @ndwbb's Hannah Hidalgo. Her career is 12 games old. pic.twitter.com/AEzfxoXcwv — OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) January 5, 2024
Irish put up a good fight against Duke but still lost another close one. The women are in a pickle tomorrow against UNC. If Maddy Westbeld is unable to go they will only have 6 scholarship players plus a former walk-on.
The Nebraska Gatorade HS Player of the year is ND walk-on Anthony Rezac he played QB and had options to go other places on scholarship but wanted to play at Notre Dame with his brother Teddy who is a LB recruit in the same class (2024). Anthony Rezac 2023 - 2024 NEBRASKA FOOTBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Tough loss for the Irish women last night, poor shooting and short bench was a problem. They really missed Maddy Westbeld in the post as she's the one who can score down there, the good news was that Sonia Citron played for the first time since game 3. She wore a big knee brace that looked to me like it would be a big hindrance but she moved pretty well with it and played 38 minutes and scored 18 points. I assume that she is going to wear that brace for the rest of the season, but of course I don't know. This is still a good team, but there are a lot of good teams in the ACC and with our short bench I could easily see us losing 10 games this season. We'll make the NCAA's and if by the end of the season we are healthy could make a sweet 16 run. On the Hockey side, the Gophers were in town and swept us. Not much hope for anything beyond the regular season. On the Football side we're hoping for the S from Northwestern to sign up with us this week. Also there is worry still that Al Golden might leave for the NFL, there has been no official announcement that he's signed any sort of extension. I think everybody wants him back, and the timing is going to suck if he does leave as the NFL firings are just starting and it'll be late Feb after the Super Bowl before the staffs settle down. The worry isn't that he'll get a HC job in the NFL, but that he will get DCoord job. That will leave Freeman scrambling to find somebody before the Spring. It's possible that he'd promote from within for continuity. But it would be a different story if he'd told Freeman he's done and will look for the NFL job. Then Freeman could have been looking and already have somebody signed. We'll just have to wait and see. He has a good defense coming back and hopefully he'll want to stay around and coach those guys.
So if Golden has an agent or is savvy about negotiating, NFL firing season is probably the best time for leverage. Terry accurately voices the fears that give rise to the leverage that NFL firing week gives to successful coaches and coordinators. With the groundbreaking contract that ND gave Denbrock you have to think that he's going to get an offer with a significant raise. If he likes his present position, he'll probably be back.
Safety Ethan Long has finally made his Notre Dame football pledge public. Exactly one month after sharing a silent declaration with the Fighting Irish coaching staff, the top 400 recruit in the 2025 class announced his verbal commitment to the program on Monday. The 6-foot-2, 185-pounder from Greenwich (Conn.) Brunswick School chose the Irish over four finalists: Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin. Six other Power Five programs offered the standout safety from New England. But as Long discovered, Notre Dame fit him best.
ND picks up a transfer from Marshall, kick returner/receiver Jayden Harrison. Looks like he had 23 KO returns and had 2 TDs as well as 28 receptions as a WR.