Notre Dame basketball coach Niele Ivey spoke ahead of Thursday's exhibition against Purdue Northwest.
Opening statement:
“(Thursday), Malaya (Cowles) and Iyana (Moore) will not be available, but hopefully they will be available maybe next week and the next couple weeks, so just want to start off with that. Everybody else is available.”
On what the injuries to Cowles and Moore are:
“Just some minor and nagging injuries.”
On the importance of this exhibition given how many new faces are on the team:
“We're always building chemistry. Obviously, we're super excited to play in front of our fans. We had a closed scrimmage last week and got a lot of film out of that. Got a chance to get up and down, again, building chemistry, but again, any opportunity to put that uniform on and play in front of our crowd is really important to us.”
On what she knows about this team and what she hopes to see on Thursday:
“I know this group works. This group, defensively, they're very intentional with the way that they defend, the way that they play together, sharing the ball. They're really doing a great job of learning each other. I think there's a lot of surprises that happen for me, a lot of consistency. It's been a lot of fun to see them kind of come together.”
On who could surprise Notre Dame fans this year:
“I think you'll see a lot of surprises. Everyone's just working so hard, like I mentioned, and everyone has come back better. Obviously, everyone gets to see a new face and see what they can do and accomplish, but I mean, I've been really impressed with Gisela (Sanchez), Vanessa (de Jesus). KK (Bransford) and Cass (Prosper) have been phenomenal, so it's going to be a lot of new surprises for everyone, but I guess because I've been working with them within the past couple weeks, it's not a surprise for me anymore.”
On Cass Prosper:
“She looks great. She's in a different position. She's playing multiple positions. Her versatility, her strength, her shot, everything that she's worked on, she's come back stronger, confident. She's one of our biggest leaders and she's somebody who has been really, really consistent for us, and I'm really proud of her.”
On what her starting five could look like given Cowles and Moore being out:
“I'm just kind of focused on who's available. I know it's probably going to change when they come back, and I'll adjust to that, but right now, obviously, I know who I'm going to start tomorrow, but again, just inserting them back into our team is something that we're building.”
On Gisela Sanchez:
“Her versatility - she can stretch the floor. She's been phenomenal, just learning the system. This is completely different for her. Her pace, everything that we've kind of put her through, she has gotten better day by day. I think that's the part that's exciting for me, that she's picked up the offense and just positions a little bit different, but again, she's been great, stretches the floor, has a great three-point shot, plays with pace, and she's an incredible passer and somebody that plays very unselfishly.”
On what she looks for in exhibition games
“I think defensively, just establishing who we are, our identity. I'm always looking at the small things with our defense, rebounding, and then offensively, taking care of the ball, trying to push pace and executing. We have a lot of new faces, so I've been teaching a lot because we have playing a different system a little bit, throwing in some new offensive ideas, concepts with this group, so execution is going to be big for me, working on spacing, all those type of things, but taking care of the ball is going to be huge.”
On how Cass Prosper has taken a leadership role:
“I'm super proud of Cass. This is her first summer being back with us because she's always been with the Canadian national team, so it was awesome to have her on campus. She was very intentional about building the team culture, building the team chemistry with her being present here. Her leadership has just been fantastic. She's been consistent. She's been one of the hardest workers, strongest workers, and again, she's a professional. She's very disciplined, and I think you're going to see that right from the beginning, the work that she's put in, and I'm excited for everyone to see what she's done for this program and also herself.”
On what she learned about Prosper this offseason:
“We have an incredible relationship. We do a great job of communicating, and she was awesome. I was away for three weeks with USA Basketball, but the fact that we remained with our communication, her letting me know exactly what's going on. I think that speaks highly of her maturity, so that was awesome. To get all those reports from her, and then again, I asked her to lead while I was away, and she did that consistently for the entire summer. We have a great relationship and I think when you have that transparency and communication, it goes over really well and that's the reason why we're so connected.”
On why she chose Prosper to lead while she was away:
“Something we talked about at the end of the season last year was relying on her leadership. She knows the expectation, the standard of our program. She knows what I'm looking for, and so she could share that with all the new faces that have come to our program and also just continue that culture for us.”
On having local products Kelly Ratigan and Jordyn Smith on the roster:
“I think it's special, especially Kelly Ratigan. She has so much history being from South Bend, but also her dad being our doctor. Somebody who has been a part of Notre Dame, been a former Notre Dame football player, so a lot of special ties that go back into that.
“Also, with Jordan being from the South Bend area, I think it's just really special, and I'm excited that they're a part of our program. And again, they know South Bend, they know Notre Dame and it's just special for them to have that local touch, I guess you can say, from the community being from here.”
On recruiting momentum:
“It's special. I'm super grateful that I feel like we're aligning with the right players, and the right players are aligning with us in this program. They're special players, obviously very talented. I think they're the right fit, and they're going to be the future. It's been a blessing to align with the right players. I credit my team with that because my team has done a phenomenal job of being phenomenal recruiters. They're all extremely personable. I credit my team a lot for what they've done to help with recruiting and just being a special group that connects with the players that we're bringing on campus.”
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