ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE BASKETBALL TIPOFF MEDIA DAY

October 11, 2022

Niele Ivey

Dara Mabrey

Olivia Miles

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We have the third season head coach for Notre Dame, Niele Ivey. Excited to talk about this upcoming season. We also have two amazing players joined with us as well. We have Dara Mabrey and then Olivia Miles, the only freshman on the ACC first team.

It was unbelievable to see you really shining your first year, almost like a senior. We'll get into that as well.

When you're looking at just going back to last year, and it's almost like you could do like this for almost each milestone that you had, whether it be NCAA Tournament, the ACC tournament, just this close. What are you feeling about this group and how they can kind of get over the hump to make sure you're one of those teams that can definitely see it all the way through.

NIELE IVEY: I'm so confident in this group. I'm so excited. I'm so excited where we're trending. For me it's really powerful to be in year three to see the progression, since I had the opportunity to take over this program.

It's a credit to these two. It's a credit to every single person on my team. They're committed. They want to get better. They love to compete, and they love each other.

They play for me, and I'm so grateful for that. We have just an incredible group. I'm really excited for what's in store this season.

THE MODERATOR: Then the experience too, with such a young group, and the core still being a big part of it.

Dara, I wanted to go to you two. Four of the five starters just from last season are back. When you hear that and building on that, what are you excited about when you're looking at that?

DARA MABREY: We learned a lot collectively as a group. And on top of that, we were able to take our individual growth and combine it for the better of our team. We all worked really hard in the postseason, in the off-season.

Now it's time to put it together and use those experiences to our advantage, especially in the fourth quarter.

THE MODERATOR: You're looking at it, Olivia Miles obviously, Citron, Mabrey, and Westbeld. That's a pretty solid group that you have. When you're looking at how you guys were able to really gel in last season, what's the missing piece, and how can you build on that performance for this year?

DARA MABREY: I think just late game maturity, but that comes with experience. It doesn't mean my teammates are immature. But, yeah, late game maturity and just discipline.

We talked with Ruth Riley in a meeting recently, and I asked her specifically about fourth quarter game scenarios, and she said, you guys just have to have this hyperfocus collectively, and that really fueled us. I think we're going to use that to our advantage.

THE MODERATOR: That's huge. And a huge flex that you can dial up Ruth Riley. That's pretty impressive.

Olivia, when you're looking at everything you accomplished in year one, it's no doubt that you are a winner, right?

OLIVIA MILES: Thank you.

THE MODERATOR: Are you even surprised by the things you were able to do your first year? When you're coming into one of the best leagues in the country, they say there's a learning curve. The game may be too fast or the physicality. What was your adjustment? What were some of the challenges you faced?

OLIVIA MILES: There was definitely a learning curve, but it more so happened behind the scenes in practice. Coach Ivey really just helped me learn the plays and get more acclimated mentally, physically, emotionally. The game is so different than high school.

That extra year coming in early really helped me do that a bit quicker than other people had the chance to. So just some struggles, obviously, the physicality, the pace of the game. Understanding the game on just a whole completely new level as a point guard, learning new teammates, all of the above.

So I feel like just experience has helped me a lot.

THE MODERATOR: I'm curious, who have you learned from? Some people say I watch film on this particular player, whether it be male or female. I mean, you do have a pretty good head coach. She was known to lace it up a couple times. What are some things that you feel like you've taken from other players that you've learned from in your game?

OLIVIA MILES: I watch a lot of film on Steph Curry, Trae Young. I loved watching Maya Moore. I wish she'd come back. I love Sue Bird, another one that's gone now. Just those point guards and great guards.

I love watching men and women obviously play, but I feel like the men, they're so crafty and so creative and just so quick with the ball. I just like to emulate what they do.

THE MODERATOR: That's probably one of the reasons you're the only freshman, male or female, to have a triple double in the NCAA Tournament. So that says a lot.

OLIVIA MILES: Thank you.

THE MODERATOR: Coach, when you're coaching her and seeing her, and just seeing -- obviously she said there's a learning curve, but what her ceiling could be, what excites you most about continuing to tap into that well?

NIELE IVEY: I just think the sky's the limit for her. When she stepped on campus, I remember her coming to practice, and she'll have like an elite finish. I was like she's just different. She's amazing to coach. She's always -- she always wants to learn more. She's extremely coachable.

She's very unselfish. She always wants to make everybody better around her. Being a point guard, it's just really refreshing to have someone like that.

Again, I think she's one of the best point guards in the game as a sophomore. To see what she did as a freshman, I think is just incredible, and I think she's going to continue to get better, continue to help us lead and go further.

THE MODERATOR: I love when I can just grab these little nuggets too, because Notre Dame was the only Power Five school to have two freshmen who averaged double digit points.

I don't know if it's just the new kid on the block, where are they coming from, but no one seemed to find an answer for you guys.

When you're building on that as a coach and even that culture of just winning a title too, what does that feel like for you?

NIELE IVEY: I think it's great. I knew getting that dynamic duo as a recruiting class, I knew that they were program changers. I'm just blessed and grateful that I have the opportunity for them to be with us. I think, if you sprinkle a Dara Mabrey with veteran experience. We have great inside presence. We have great versatility, like you mentioned, Maddy Westbeld. We have Natalija Marshall coming back from injury.

We have great pieces around, and again, they really compete, have great chemistry on and off the court. I think you're going to see that this season.

THE MODERATOR: And couple of transfers too. Lauren Ebo being one of them. If you can just speak to the pieces you do have coming in and how they can impact.

NIELE IVEY: Yeah, Ebo, Lauren, is just such an efficient post player. She is somebody that is back to the basket. She has great hands. That's one thing I really noticed.

When she steps on the floor and you give her the ball, she's going to complete that play. She just brings experience. She went to the Elite Eight two years in a row. So that leadership, she understands, she knows the expectation. I think she's going to do an incredible job, especially with us losing Maya Dodson last season.

And then Kylee Watson. She's a difference maker. She has a motor, her work ethic. She's super versatile. She does a great job inside and out. She's got great pace, and she really fits in our style of play.

I think those two are going to make a huge impact. And then Jenna Brown coming from Stanford. She's another ball handler, and she brings a lot of experience as well.

THE MODERATOR: What I like about this team is the non-conference schedule. Challenged right out of the gate. You can see Mabrey, yeah, I want the challenge. Give me all the smoke.

When you're looking at the Big Ten-ACC challenge with Maryland, you have UConn in the Jimmy V Classic, play Northwestern, Cal, and Arizona State as well.

Stepping up to the challenge, how important is it? What do you want to display and show the nation what this team can be?

DARA MABREY: That's a great question. I think it goes back to like the growth aspect. Having those games early on is perfect for experience in late-game situations and all that.

We're just ready to show that we're a fast-paced team that's going to run the ball the whole game and eventually make you want to quit.

THE MODERATOR: I felt that in my spirit. I don't know if anybody else felt that.

Coach Ivey talked about the different pieces coming in and how they can impact, but you guys are on the floor too. When you're looking at being leaders and obviously being voices in the locker room as well, what have you seen about the way you guys have been able to gel at this point?

OLIVIA MILES: I feel like off the court is just as important as on the court interaction, and our chemistry really shines through. In the locker room we're just very open and honest with each other.

We always have this talk before the year, but I feel like this year, people understood it more. Don't take anything personally. We're coming at it from a stance that we care about you, we love you. If we're hard on you, if we're getting on you, it's because we care and we want you to be the best version of yourself every day.

THE MODERATOR: Well said.

DARA MABREY: That was spot on. But yeah, our chemistry, especially with newcomers and a bunch of transfers, like she says it all the time in practice, like your chemistry is so great.

So like if there's ever a time when we don't communicate, she's like, what's wrong with you? Because great chemistry, there's just higher expectations. It's easier to get through bumps in the road. When you hit adversity, it's coming from a loving standpoint.

Like as a leader you love and care about your teammates, and sometimes they're not going to like you like in certain moments. But that's okay, because we all have this collective understanding that we'll do whatever it takes to win.

THE MODERATOR: What I hear there too it's being battle tested. When you have so many core players coming back, you can have that rapport and you don't have to relearn someone and how they approach you.

I think looking at that too is a mantra. What exactly -- does it change with each year? Even with you being just in your third year, is there a different philosophy or mantra that you have going into this season?

NIELE IVEY: This season -- I always try to feel into the team, and every team is different. This one I really felt like we were hungry for more. It's something we talked about at the end of last year. All of my end-of-the-year meetings, it's the same theme that kept coming up with all of our returners.

I think having that edge, having that chip on our shoulder, knowing that we were so close but knowing that we have an incredible group coming back. The expectation is there. The standard, like she mentioned. We have a collective goal, and we're going to do our best to try to reach that.

That's why we compete. That's why we play for each other. That's why they love each other off the court. Our theme this year is definitely hungry for more.

THE MODERATOR: Right, when you're hungry for more you're looking at stats that can be accomplished within the ACC. What are some things that are important to you to dominate and or say we're first, second in this area going into conference play?

NIELE IVEY: For sure in assists. Liv had over 222 assists. That speaks volumes. And pace, we want to score in the 70s. Like she mentioned, she wants to run.

I think just defensively, I don't know if it's a stat, but just being better with our transition defense.

THE MODERATOR: That's a stat.

NIELE IVEY: That's a stat. That's something we focused on that we're really working on every day, so transition defense.

Again, like sharing the ball, I think we do a phenomenal job of sharing the ball. I want to attempt more threes this season even more than we did last year, and that will open up our inside presence.

THE MODERATOR: Just looking at Dara's eyes, they got really big. How many threes can I get up for this right now?

I want to go back to this. You mentioned being battle tested and the adversity. Is there any point last season where there was a moment where you guys were tested but then you saw how it also helped you and propel you into a little bit of success moving forward?

DARA MABREY: I feel like there was numerous times we were tested. One I can remember off the top of my head was away at Georgia Tech. We started to get a little shaky like halfway through the fourth. Then they took us into overtime, but we did really good in overtime.

We kind of just were like, okay, you know, this is how it is on the road. It's really hard to win in the ACC period. We gave ourselves some grace here but understood in the next practice we were going to adjust and fix those fourth quarter mistakes.

THE MODERATOR: The Ruth Riley effect, right? The last question. The ACC is tough every single night. Non-conference is going to be tough every single night, just the target on your back. What did you learn about the importance of preparing for each night in the ACC?

OLIVIA MILES: Yeah, preparing is everything. You can't go into a game unprepared or else you will get embarrassed, and I feel like the ACC just every night is just something different, but you know that it's going to be tough. That just prepares us for the tournament. It prepares us for those harder games down the road.

But being prepared is something that we take very seriously. We watch film religiously. I'm always with Coach Ivey. I'm always with Coach Mabrey -- not her (indicating), Coach Mike (laughter).

No, we're gym rats and we love film and we love being prepared and fixing our mistakes and just working towards perfection. Because once you always work towards perfection, you can get the best that you can be.

THE MODERATOR: If I may, what does your prep look like?

OLIVIA MILES: My prep? Like I said, I'm just always in the gym. Coach Mike is like, you want to get shots up? I'm like, yeah. I always watch film. She sends me film. We were just watching on the plane practice film. Anywhere we can kind of do it.

A lot happens at pregame meals. Like literally any time we get, we're always just preparing for opponents.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you so much for your time. That will do it. Thank you and we'll see you the rest of the season.