Miles is a real basketball savant, somebody who admits she doesn’t have a selected strategy on the subject of her fashion 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 somewhat little bit of the identical. We’ve got 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, move, 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,” nevertheless it’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 courtroom? “Not being sore mid-game or, like, desirous to die within the fourth quarter. That is positively a begin,” she says. “I believe making it via a full recreation could be very troublesome, and anybody getting back from an harm is aware of that. I believe 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 power again to this system with its star out? That takes somebody on a completely totally different wavelength.
The excellent news for the Irish is that Hannah is an entity. As a pressure of nature, Hidalgo wasn’t afraid of the second. She owned it. “I believe coming into faculty, I [knew] it was gonna be rather a lot, particularly with Liv taking place,” she says. “It was gonna be a number of taking over such a dominant crew, such a robust crew and simply main that crew as a freshman. Coach Ivey, she had instilled a number of belief in me earlier than I even received right here. She had advised me she was giving me the keys and it was going to be rather a lot, however she knew what it was and knew who I used to be, and he or she had trusted me rather a lot.”
Throughout coaching and exercises in the summertime main as much as this season, Liv took on the function of mentor with Hidalgo. She’d convey 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 figuring out anyone, having Liv there to say, You possibly can’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 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, nevertheless it was simply unimaginable to type of see what she did in that rookie yr—main such a robust crew, as she mentioned, and figuring it out alongside the way in which.”
And he or she positively did. With unmatched velocity and flexibility on each ends of the ground, Hidalgo put the faculty basketball world on discover together 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 information 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 report beforehand set by none aside from Diggins-Smith. Talking of which: “She simply received it right here [pointing to her heart],” Sky mentioned 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 approach 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 power performs,” Miles says. “In that tweet, I mentioned, I simply be laughing. I am at half-court—like, examine the movies. I simply snigger, 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 straight away. 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 the moment 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 believe essentially the most deadly half [of my game] is my potential to attain over larger defenders, and my protection, after all,” 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 inventive. However what occurs on the courtroom once they’re collectively is the results of pure collaboration. Their reads to one another appear to be linked by an invisible string, like when Olivia despatched a full-court hail mary move to Hidalgo towards Wake Forest, or the time Hidalgo dished out a behind-her-head move to Miles for a fastbreak layup. It’s loopy to suppose that that is solely their first yr taking part in collectively.
“It is onerous to explain,” Miles says, when requested about their fashion of play collectively. “It simply occurs.” To which Hidalgo provides: “I believe 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, a giant 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 could be 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 once we ought to have, dropping to groups that we most likely should not have as nicely. Simply being constant and bringing our identical identification day by day is an announcement for us.”
Provides Hannah: “This yr is the time to take all of it the way in which and win all of it.”
