NFL
By: Joe Cardoso
March Madness is here again and before conference tournaments start and brackets take over our lives let’s highlight a hoops force that calls South Bend home for now. Notre Dame Fighting Irish super freshman Hannah Hidalgo. This could very well be the best freshman class in the history of women’s college hoops led by USC standout JuJu Watkins, but the 5’6 point guard out of New Jersey is not to be forgotten and has the Fighting Irish ranked even with all the injuries they this season. Sitting at 3rd in the nation in scoring that isn’t even the best part of her game in my opinion.
High Basketball IQ
With AAU and better high school basketball overall the days of stary-eyed, overwhelmed freshman is over. These players hit campus with experience and confidence. Hannah is all of those things a true PG who took on a leadership role with her team very quickly. On the floor, she has shown she can set the tone early or allow her teammates to get going and chip in where and when needed. Having grown up playing against boys/men along with her brothers she is tough. More times than not she is driving into the paint among the trees and getting the bucket, drawing a foul, or dishing to a teammate. Dishing out almost 6 assits a game she understands she can’t do it all by herself. Hidalgo has taken the college basketball world by storm with triple-doubles, large scoring outbursts racking up a ton of ACC Player of the Week awards. Her name is at the TOP of the list for Player of the Year and she is only 19 years old. She is now the record holder for scoring by a freshman in ACC history. The university is helping her case as it has started sending out hoop earrings to support her case for player of the year in the conference.
Effort On Both Ends
Anyone can shoot the ball but to play defense and be good at it, you have to WANT to and remember you still have to get down on the other end of the floor. Hannah is a lockdown defender and seems to be everywhere on defense grabbing 4.9 steals per game which leads the nation. Multiple double-digit steal games are something you just don’t see too much in today’s game. Either playing the passing lanes or straight up using her quick hands to swipe it away. I would argue her impact is greater on defense since it sets her team up for easy transition buckets as well as sets the tone for the rest to step it up on defense. Playing defense takes effort something she has a ton of. And did I mention her rounding? No, that is not a typo at 5’6 she gets boards and her hustle and effort help her snag a few that otherwise she wouldn’t. The game is meant to be played hard and all out, you can check off both those boxes for her.
Let’s Go
I love my athletes to be very passionate. Yell after the good and the bad, let out a scream as if it’s game 7 of the finals. It pumps up me as a fan and their teammates. Is it really an and 1 if you don’t scream out “AND 1?” Hidalgo shows her love for the game each play, maybe it’s the Latino blood flowing from her dad who is from Puerto Rico. By the way, being fluent in Spanish, the amount of Latino girls she is inspiring is large. Seeing someone who looks like you, and speaks your language matters.
one thing about Hannah, is she’s going to keep climbing!! @HannahHidalgo has led ND in points, rebounds and assists in back-to-back games 🤭 #GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/IObq2iPvH5
— Notre Dame Women’s Basketball (@ndwbb) March 2, 2024
Notre Dame is getting ready to head to the ACC tournement and a seat at the March Madness table. I have zero doubt the super freshman is ready for the madness and will be so much fun to watch. I know it is important to live in the moment , but how can you not think about next season when we get Olivia Miles back along with Hannah Hidalgo. Grab some popcorn and your favorite beverage the show has already started.
