January 16, 2025 • 24 mins
Michaela Mabrey has experienced the ebbs and flows of Notre Dame's program history, having played during the heights of the team, joining the coaching staff prior to a rebuilding phase, and working under Niele Ivey to guide the team back to the Final Four.
Michaela joins Mark Schindler to discuss her unique view of the program, where the Irish sit at the beginning of ACC play, Sonia Citron's pro potential, and so much more!
You can listen to the pod on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/theyve-got-now/id1652378572
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2eTVgaVudBvS9yox3XbgGX?si=16a02c3ea75942e8
You can watch the pod on https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSPW9eR1D5GWBw1lRpM8qTDSlliwbGp8J&si=rX7RfQZmuB6XAa3T
As always, a major thank you to James Edwards III for the intro and outro music! If you have not already, follow Mark on Twitter @MG_Schindler and be sure to rate and review the pod!
Send any questions, comments, or feedback Mark's way, and enjoy the show.
Michaela joins Mark Schindler to discuss her unique view of the program, where the Irish sit at the beginning of ACC play, Sonia Citron's pro potential, and so much more!
You can listen to the pod on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/theyve-got-now/id1652378572
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2eTVgaVudBvS9yox3XbgGX?si=16a02c3ea75942e8
You can watch the pod on https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSPW9eR1D5GWBw1lRpM8qTDSlliwbGp8J&si=rX7RfQZmuB6XAa3T
As always, a major thank you to James Edwards III for the intro and outro music! If you have not already, follow Mark on Twitter @MG_Schindler and be sure to rate and review the pod!
Send any questions, comments, or feedback Mark's way, and enjoy the show.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Welcome into an episode that they've got now. I'm really
excited to be joined today by New Jersey legend, somebody
who's been a big part of one of the royal
families of Notre Dame women's basketball as some Kayla Mabury
my first and foremost. How you doing today?
Speaker 2 (00:23):
I'm great, It's a great day, had a nice morning,
worked out, we got practiced a little bit later, and
excited to get the week going. We got Georgia Tech
this week. They're a great team, so I'm excited for
that matchup.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Yeah, two teams that run Princeton at a really high
level in different ways. So it's gonna be really fun
to dive into and kind of see what that looks like.
I mean, I think the first thing that I have
to ask, are you aware of your sister's current cooking
debacle that has been all up over the internet, because
I can't go five seconds without seeing something about it.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
So, and she she recently like really got into TikTok
and recent like got into cooking. Like I got her.
I had her for Christmas actually, and I got her
like that ninja creamy thing and like she loves it.
She cooks everything and Yeah, it's all over TikTok. She
loves unrivaled, she loves just like being on social media. Now,
(01:15):
don't know where that came from, but we love it.
But yeah, she is. Djna's got her some new seasonings
and she's trying new things.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
You know what.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
I'm just happy that she she's branching out and she's
talking to a lot of people and she's having a
great time. And if that entails cooking shows and hanging
with Jackie and figuring all that out, then that's cool
with me.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
So yeah, no, absolutely, it's good to see the branch out.
That's what Miami's all about. I guess.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Weather. I think it's the weather.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
Oh yeah, I mean, hey, it gives.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
You a good vibe about yourself every day.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
She doesn't have a foot in a half of snow outside,
so that helps for sure. Speaking on this season though,
and just kind of where you guys are at, obviously
very I mean, I know you guys had very high
expectations for this season and still do of course, have
you kind of been able to let it sink in yet,
Like it's already like, what, shoot, it's gonna be five
games in the ACC play six games I guess where
(02:15):
it's at just kind of everything coming together, obviously dealing
with injuries early on in the year, but you know,
kind of experiencing some of those highs and lows and
then getting to where we're at now. You know, where
are you kind of feeling with that and where the
team's at currently.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Yeah, you know, it's crazy. I literally just was with
Los and I was like, I cannot believe it's January fourteenth.
I feel like this season goes by really really fast,
and I think my New Year's resolution actually was to
stay as present as I possibly can. You know, this
team is really special and we know that, and I
think one of the hardest things is to stay present
(02:49):
because you're always looking towards the next thing. And you know,
I'm really happy with where we're at. I think, you know,
we're just adding Maddie into the mix of things, which
is incredible. Like, I'm so happy that she's back, and
you know, we're going to figure that out as it
goes and I'm I feel really grateful to be where
(03:09):
we are. I think we had an incredible non conference
schedule that really tested us to see where we were,
and I feel like we exceeded exceeded that. And you know,
with with a c C play, every team is good.
You know, every team is coming to beat us, you know,
(03:30):
And I think I think we need to understand that
and know that where everybody's Super Bowl, everyone's going to
give us our best their best game, and I think
that helps us something that challenges us every game. And
like I said, I'm really happy with where we are,
and I think adding Maddie in right now, with how
good she is and how experienced she is from a
(03:52):
from a post standpoint, is only going to make us better.
And I'm really excited to see where we go from
here with with everybody coming back, we got our full
team healthy. We haven't seen our full team since recently,
so and I think being at full health we'll just
boost us even more. So I'm really excited to see
(04:14):
where we go from here.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
Yeah, No, absolutely, I think you know, you could kind
of see the fruits of where everything could be in
like July, you know, when everything came together, and now
you didn't atually see it on court is kind of nice, right,
Like you can picture all that stuff in your head
and then every single game is just in the back
of mind. Like, yeah, we're playing nice, but like, what
does this look like when we put everything all together?
And it's like, you know, so it's kind of cool
to finally get to see that happen on court. A
(04:37):
big reason I want to talk to you, though, is
like I think it's interesting because you have a really
unique perspective on this program, obviously having played here, having
Kosh here for quite some time now and getting to
just really see how everything has obviously you know, Notre
Dame hitting its highest when you were here at the
beginning to now kind of getting back to that level
(04:58):
under Nayell. Can you like again, I know, like especially
in terms of the being present aspect, have you been
able to really kind of sit and think about that
a little bit because obviously, I mean you've probably known
Neil for an incredibly long time, having been there with
your assistant as well, but like, yeah, just like kind
of walk us through that. Have you been able to
really like really sit and think about like, wow, Okay,
(05:19):
you know it's it's really kind of come round about
after yeah, you with with Meell coming back and getting
everything to where it's going.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Yeah, I think I think it's so crazy. I have
thought about it. I've thought about it deeply. Actually, I
always say, like you you always kind of like when
you grow up, you have a you have a plan
in your head of like how you want your life
to go right. And I always say, like, God's plan
is always better than mine, because I always had a
(05:47):
plan of where I wanted to be at a certain
age and what I wanted to be doing, and it
just turned out so much better than that, and and
that's just all because of God. And I feel, really,
I feel really grateful to be where I am and
and to be with who I am. I mean to
be with who I'm with, because like you said, like
I've known Neil since I was sixteen years old, you know,
(06:08):
she recruited me. I've known CEO since I'm sixteen years old.
I've known Charlotte since I was sixteen years old. And
like so many people that I'm around, I consider my family,
you know, like Neo and CEO and Charlotte, these are
people that have seen me grow up. And to throw
like my sister's into it, it's like it's it's been
(06:29):
such a blessing to be here and to see this
program go through the ups and downs right and I've
been a part of a lot of it, you know,
like I've been a part of championship teams, Final four teams,
and then you know, I come back and you know
we were on a low. You know, we were on
a low when I first got back with Coach McGraw
(06:50):
and then and then when Neil took over, and you
dream about being back at the top, you pray about
being back at the top, but you try to stay
present because all that adversity and all those things that
you went through during that time just teach you a lot,
teach us a lot about coaching. It teaches It's taught
me a lot about myself as a person, as a coach,
(07:12):
and to now like be on the other side of it.
That's why I'm trying to stay so present, because I've
dreamed and prayed about being where I am right now,
and it's hard because you're again, you're always looking towards
the next thing. So I'm trying my hardest, like I said,
to be present because I've prayed and dreamed about being
exactly where I am right now, with this team, with
(07:35):
Neo and CEO and the staff that I'm around, and
my people and my family, like it's a blessing. It
really is. I'm so grateful to be where we are
right now, and I'm so grateful for everything, all the
hard times, the losses, the adversity that we went through
as teams and as staffs, and I'm grateful for all
(07:58):
of it because I am where I am because of
all that right now, and I'm just grateful. Like I said,
I'm I'm so happy to be here with this team,
with this staff, and I'm trying to stay present through
all of it.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
Yeah. No, I love that because that's definitely something I've
been trying to work out of my life too, is
just like how do I It's hard? Yeah, I know exactly.
I feel like that's I'm trying to. I don't know,
like people will tell you about it, but then like
you get to your mintorn and it's like, oh wow, yeah,
this really is kind of hard to like not just
be like yeah, like I don't know, because I try,
and you know, when I talk to like my mentors
and like people I really look up to, like like,
(08:34):
well I really want to be here, and like yeah,
but dude, like you know, I didn't get this job
till I was like thirty one thirty teen. I'm like, yeah, yeah,
that's like five years from now, dude, But like, you know,
so trying to remember those things is like key, but
work in progress for sure. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
And you think about like you always wanted to be
like where you are right now, Like I've always wanted
to be here, and I'm here and I'm just trying
to be here, you know, Like, but it's hard, Like
it really is hard. Like sometimes you got to catch
yourself and be like okay, Mike, like you're right here,
You're right now, You're right here, there's nothing else, just
be where your feet are. You can only be right here.
(09:08):
So I think it's easier said than done. But I'm
really really like I know how fast it goes. I
know how fast every season goes. And I was sitting
here in October, like I can't believe it sucks for like,
you know, I now I can't believe it's November. I
can't believe we're in the middle of January, you know,
And it just like I know how fast it goes,
(09:29):
and I know how fast it's gonna go. And I'm
just like I said, this is a very special year
and I know that, and I feel it, so I'm
I'm taking it all in day by day.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
Yeah, and I mean kind of going off that. I
think it's you know, I've been thinking a lot about
Neil's first year just in general lately, because I feel like,
in some ways it was that that year. I don't
want to say like got swept under, but like I
think it's easy to kind of like forget that that
year happened, just because of how crazy everything was with COVID. Yeah,
but just thinking, you know, especially like you know, I've
(10:02):
really gotten to see like Sonia, Olivia, Maddie, all of
them kind of grow up from that. Yeah, obviously that
that first season. If you could kind of put into
words like what that you know, if you can look
back and think about like what the work has been
to get from where that point was, you know, when
when Yelle first came in. Yeah, you retain on staff
and obviously keep going from there, like what was what?
(10:24):
You know? Can you can you kind of like like
what does that feel like? Recognized? Like, wow, shoot, that's
four years ago already almost even longer.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
Yeah, that was such a hard year. I think like obviously,
like COVID was, I can't believe it was four years ago.
But yeah, it was such a difficult time for everyone,
and then to have Neale get the job in the
in the midst of all of it, and being we
(10:53):
were all separated, you know what I mean, Like I
was in Jersey, you know, everybody is all over the place,
and you're and even though I didn't know Neil right like,
it wasn't like I didn't know her, but she's moved
into a new position, so you're kind of everybody's trying
to figure out everything while we're all in separate places.
And then she did an incredible job getting Sony and
(11:16):
live and retaining Maddie, you know, like those key pieces
that we knew we needed to at least start building
what we knew what we could do. And it was
just really hard. That whole year was just you were
just trying to figure it out, you know, like and
making sure you were keeping your kids at the forefront
(11:38):
of everything through all of it, because it was such
a difficult time mentally for everyone. So it was really
just trying trying to establish our culture and trying to
figure out exactly what the pieces we needed to build
the puzzle to a championship team. And I think from
the first year to now year five with Neil, you
(12:00):
see it. You completely see the growth in what we've
put together to build the to build the puzzle, and
none of it's been perfect, none of it has. But
we've we've figured out what we need and how we
need to coach them, and the game has evolved so much.
(12:21):
The girls have evolved so much. It's a completely different
generation than it was five years ago. You throw Nil in,
you throw a different type of kid in now, like
it's completely changed from five years ago. Our recruiting has
changed from five years ago. You know, like you have
to adapt or else you get left behind. So I
think there's so many different things that have changed in
(12:42):
the last five years that we've adapted and we've figured
out exactly the type of player that we need in person,
type of person, type of young woman, type of family,
type of kid that we need to build a championship
team and say, hey, we gotta we have a final
four team year. And it's incredible to see the growth
(13:02):
if it's incredible to be on the journey with Neo
through it all, and like I said, I think we've
build up to that point and it's exciting to finally
to be here.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
Yeah, I think A big reason I want to bring
that up is because exactly like I think, you know it,
I think so often people just you know, again, like
when a year like that happens, when when there is
so much change and you're kind of morphing and figuring
things out, people are like, oh, well, you know it's
Notre Dame, Like you know, Notre Dame, Like the program
name kind of carries more than what that year is
(13:34):
in a way, And I think, you know, you look
at this year and I mean, obviously this year doesn't
happen without having that season and the basis that built.
But exactly like you said, I think kind of tying
back in with being present, like you know, it's easy
to forget all the things you had to do to
get to this point and kind of build that up.
So I thought that was It's just been really interesting
to look back and think on that because also like
(13:55):
how is it that long ago?
Speaker 2 (13:56):
But I know, and it's it's crazy that like live
Sony and Maddie like they're like their seniors, their grads,
you know, like this is this could be it. So
it's so incredible to see their growth and and that
they stuck with it, you know, like they stuck with
it and saw the vision and saw what we could be,
(14:18):
you know, And and I'm so grateful, and I know
Neil is too, to have their loyalty and to know
that they've they've come from there to hear now like
they've been on the same journey that we've been on,
and they've seen it and they've been a part of it,
and they believed and they grew and they they're finally
here and they have such a bright future ahead of them.
(14:41):
But again, it's about being president. It's about being president
right now knowing that their futures is super bright at
the next level.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
Yeah, No, absolutely, And I think part of what's fun
with that too is like I think, out of any
athlete I've ever met, Sony might be the best at
at that aspect, Like I think, and I mean in
the best way too, Like I just think she is
like so good at being tapped out of the outside
noise of stuff. Like I think it's pretty special to
have that mindset at that age. But I really wanted
(15:13):
to talk to you about Sony because like I can
have my own perspective and like having known her and
see her journey. But like for you, obviously I haven't
better position coach being around her as often as you are. Like,
I think one of the things that gets like, I mean,
she gets called underrated all the time, and I get that.
I think part of it is she's definitely a very
quiet person if you don't know her. But like, I
also get frustrated with it too, because I think there's
(15:34):
an aspect of like the people who call her underrated
that people could also probably raid her. But that's another discussion.
But like I think in general, especially in in the
W in college basketball, just in general, like there is
a I don't think people quite get wing players sometimes,
like the value that they can bring, what they can
do developmentally, and that's something that I've tried to like
(15:56):
find ways to explain people, particularly having come from where
the NBA side, Like I just see Sony, I think
I think about possibilities, you knowing everything she could do
at the next level, and like I mean, I was
talking to Maddie the other day, she was like, people
don't see it, but like Sony has the deepest bag
on the team, but she just like is never trying
to do too much out on the court, Like, I
(16:17):
don't know, how do you kind of quantify that when
thinking about what that means for the next level, because
I think, like again, I just I think there's so
much more to her game than that meets the eye
sometimes that you know, you really need to slow things
down and review a possession.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
But yeah, yeah, I think I think people are now,
especially at the next level like the W, people know
her value because when you play on a great team
with a lot of great players, I mean, we have
five to six players that could score twenty every single night.
So that's the same exact thing that you see in
(16:53):
the W. It's the same thing. You have great players,
they're all great, So can you be in a role
that you can still fulfill and be adaptive to what
they need? And that's exactly what she's doing. It's exactly
what she's doing. And I think that people notice that.
(17:14):
People know how good she is and she can be
adaptive to a great team and be incredibly unselfish and
she's always been that way. That's that's how Sony is.
She's been since I've known her. She's very unselfish. She
doesn't want to do too much, she wants to do
whatever the team needs, she's gonna do and she has
(17:36):
a super high basketball IQ. She gets it. She is mature,
she wants to get better all the time. She understands
herself in what she needs to do to feel ready
for every game. For what the next level entails, she
understands it. And I think that she might be underrated.
(18:00):
But I think people are, especially like if when you
look at the next level, like you asked, like they
understand how valuable she is because if you just watch
one of our games, she does so many things that
you don't that fly under the radar. Like you said,
they might not be on a stat sheet, but she's
guarding the best players every night. She's grabbing rebounds, she's
(18:22):
doing things that necessarily, like I said, don't show up
on the stat sheet and aren't like, oh my god, wow.
But she is incredible like in what she does and
does it with the same intention every day, which is
what do I need to do for us to win?
That's it? What do I gotta do? And if I say, Sony,
(18:45):
that means you got to shoot the ball twenty times?
All right, cool, bet I'll do that. I'll do that
twenty times. But that's growth for her. That's growth because
if you talk to her freshman year, it was like
pulling your teeth to shoot the ball. And I was saying,
you're so unselfish, but by you not shooting the ball,
you're being selfish because you're not You're not you're not
(19:05):
doing what we need you to do and what you're
great at. And she's grown in that since then, understanding
what that looks like. And Sony just gets better. She
gets better, She puts the work in. She knows we
have plans every single off season of what she needs
to do we get better. What are the three things
we need to do to make sure that you're ready?
(19:25):
And you know, this year there was a lot more
talk about, Okay, what does it look like they need
to get better for now and what you need to
get better for next year? And you know, her growth
is incredible. But I think that when you when you
talk to to W coaches, they understand what Sony is
and who she is as a player and how valuable
(19:47):
she is and how she's so incredibly adaptive and to
who she plays with, and she can play with five
great players. She's doing it right now. You know they
all are. So it's it's a It's something that is
incredible for a W coach to see, is you can
play around great players and still be effective, and still
(20:08):
be dominant in your own way and have that role
that every single person on the team needs to be successful.
Whether you do have five or six dominant players, everybody
still has a role that they need to fulfill in
order for us to win. Same thing at the W level.
So Tony's so important to us. She knows that, she
(20:29):
feels that, and she's just an incredible player and an
incredible person and someone who's just so easy to coach.
So and I can't wait for what next year the
W brings her.
Speaker 1 (20:44):
Yeah, that makes two of us to close out too.
You know, you hit it on it a little bit
earlier talking about how much things have evolved, even just
in the last five years as a PERM, I wanted
to ask from like a play style standpoint, like obviously
everybody knows pace threes, this that like I you know,
obviously I think it's more diverse still in college basketball,
but particularly the way you guys played Princeton and how
(21:07):
that's evolved over the last five years. Like you know,
when you go from where you when you were playing
to Now, what do you think has changed most in
how you guys prioritize things in the offense or how
you guys have kind of built things around this year
compared to you when you were going to final fours yourself.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
Yeah, I think I think Neal really adapts to what
our team needs. It's not like she doesn't fit the
girls to our system, right, it's fitting our system to
what we feel our strengths are for. So, for example,
like in our first couple of years, we didn't run
Princeton a lot. We didn't we didn't have the personnel
(21:47):
to run Princeton. So now we do, so it's a
little bit different. But I think Neil does a great
job of of not trying to fit the team to
the system and instead fitting the system to teams. So,
for example, I feel like we do run a lot
of the same stuff that we did when I was
in school, especially the last few years with the team
that we've had, but she's added a lot of five out,
(22:10):
a lot of NBA style w NBA style offense to
our team, and a lot of ball screens, a lot
of isolation situations to allow them space to get a
bucket and I think it's all about like you said,
it's spacing, but do you have the team to have that,
(22:30):
and fortunately we have the last few years. But it's
very adaptive. You have to and Neo does a great
job of, like I said, adapting to what our team
strengths are. So as much as it is similar style,
I think to what coach mcgrat did, I think Neo
(22:51):
has incorporated her own style into what we do. And
that's a lot of five out, it's a lot of
five out, it's a lot of ball screen, it's a
lot of ISOs, which I think is very successful for
with the team that we have is spreading the floor
out with our personnel and letting our guards get downhill
and and work and and and get our posts open
(23:14):
looks and you know, when we got to go to
a set to get a bucket for somebody, we do it.
You know, everybody's got their own sets that we feel
like work for for each one of our players. But overall,
I think the game has evolves a little bit more
to that. I think since I played that that you
see a lot more five out, a lot of shooting posts,
(23:34):
players that can pick and pop that you know, five
out you see a lot more I feel like of
that recently since I played, and a lot more freedom
I think. I think uh Neil gives a lot of
freedom to our to our players too, to play with
flair and play with pace and and make mistakes and
all that. I think it's it's a different I think
(23:56):
the game has evolved in that way too, especially with Neo.
But yeah, I think I think I think that's probably
the biggest difference I've seen.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
Yeah. No, I could talk about how much I love
Princeton all day. I think it's so great at like
just teaching reads and making decisions and I think, I mean,
that's what the game is about. But Mike, I know,
I gotta get you out of here. I appreciate your time.
Is there anything you want to shout out before you
out of here?
Speaker 2 (24:21):
No, I just I appreciate you being being on the podcast.
I appreciate you reaching out, and I hope to do
it again soon. But I'm, like I said, I'm I'm
grateful and I'm excited to see where the season goes.
Speaker 1 (24:35):
Yeah. Absolutely, to everyone listening and washing, be sure to
hit like and subscribe down below. Keep up with all
things in Notre Dame Women's basketball, enjoy the rest of
your day,
Welcome into an episode that they've got now. I'm really
excited to be joined today by New Jersey legend, somebody
who's been a big part of one of the royal
families of Notre Dame women's basketball as some Kayla Mabury
my first and foremost. How you doing today?
Speaker 2 (00:23):
I'm great, It's a great day, had a nice morning,
worked out, we got practiced a little bit later, and
excited to get the week going. We got Georgia Tech
this week. They're a great team, so I'm excited for
that matchup.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Yeah, two teams that run Princeton at a really high
level in different ways. So it's gonna be really fun
to dive into and kind of see what that looks like.
I mean, I think the first thing that I have
to ask, are you aware of your sister's current cooking
debacle that has been all up over the internet, because
I can't go five seconds without seeing something about it.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
So, and she she recently like really got into TikTok
and recent like got into cooking. Like I got her.
I had her for Christmas actually, and I got her
like that ninja creamy thing and like she loves it.
She cooks everything and Yeah, it's all over TikTok. She
loves unrivaled, she loves just like being on social media. Now,
(01:15):
don't know where that came from, but we love it.
But yeah, she is. Djna's got her some new seasonings
and she's trying new things.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
You know what.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
I'm just happy that she she's branching out and she's
talking to a lot of people and she's having a
great time. And if that entails cooking shows and hanging
with Jackie and figuring all that out, then that's cool
with me.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
So yeah, no, absolutely, it's good to see the branch out.
That's what Miami's all about. I guess.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Weather. I think it's the weather.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
Oh yeah, I mean, hey, it gives.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
You a good vibe about yourself every day.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
She doesn't have a foot in a half of snow outside,
so that helps for sure. Speaking on this season though,
and just kind of where you guys are at, obviously
very I mean, I know you guys had very high
expectations for this season and still do of course, have
you kind of been able to let it sink in yet,
Like it's already like, what, shoot, it's gonna be five
games in the ACC play six games I guess where
(02:15):
it's at just kind of everything coming together, obviously dealing
with injuries early on in the year, but you know,
kind of experiencing some of those highs and lows and
then getting to where we're at now. You know, where
are you kind of feeling with that and where the
team's at currently.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Yeah, you know, it's crazy. I literally just was with
Los and I was like, I cannot believe it's January fourteenth.
I feel like this season goes by really really fast,
and I think my New Year's resolution actually was to
stay as present as I possibly can. You know, this
team is really special and we know that, and I
think one of the hardest things is to stay present
(02:49):
because you're always looking towards the next thing. And you know,
I'm really happy with where we're at. I think, you know,
we're just adding Maddie into the mix of things, which
is incredible. Like, I'm so happy that she's back, and
you know, we're going to figure that out as it
goes and I'm I feel really grateful to be where
(03:09):
we are. I think we had an incredible non conference
schedule that really tested us to see where we were,
and I feel like we exceeded exceeded that. And you know,
with with a c C play, every team is good.
You know, every team is coming to beat us, you know,
(03:30):
And I think I think we need to understand that
and know that where everybody's Super Bowl, everyone's going to
give us our best their best game, and I think
that helps us something that challenges us every game. And
like I said, I'm really happy with where we are,
and I think adding Maddie in right now, with how
good she is and how experienced she is from a
(03:52):
from a post standpoint, is only going to make us better.
And I'm really excited to see where we go from
here with with everybody coming back, we got our full
team healthy. We haven't seen our full team since recently,
so and I think being at full health we'll just
boost us even more. So I'm really excited to see
(04:14):
where we go from here.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
Yeah, No, absolutely, I think you know, you could kind
of see the fruits of where everything could be in
like July, you know, when everything came together, and now
you didn't atually see it on court is kind of nice, right,
Like you can picture all that stuff in your head
and then every single game is just in the back
of mind. Like, yeah, we're playing nice, but like, what
does this look like when we put everything all together?
And it's like, you know, so it's kind of cool
to finally get to see that happen on court. A
(04:37):
big reason I want to talk to you, though, is
like I think it's interesting because you have a really
unique perspective on this program, obviously having played here, having
Kosh here for quite some time now and getting to
just really see how everything has obviously you know, Notre
Dame hitting its highest when you were here at the
beginning to now kind of getting back to that level
(04:58):
under Nayell. Can you like again, I know, like especially
in terms of the being present aspect, have you been
able to really kind of sit and think about that
a little bit because obviously, I mean you've probably known
Neil for an incredibly long time, having been there with
your assistant as well, but like, yeah, just like kind
of walk us through that. Have you been able to
really like really sit and think about like, wow, Okay,
(05:19):
you know it's it's really kind of come round about
after yeah, you with with Meell coming back and getting
everything to where it's going.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Yeah, I think I think it's so crazy. I have
thought about it. I've thought about it deeply. Actually, I
always say, like you you always kind of like when
you grow up, you have a you have a plan
in your head of like how you want your life
to go right. And I always say, like, God's plan
is always better than mine, because I always had a
(05:47):
plan of where I wanted to be at a certain
age and what I wanted to be doing, and it
just turned out so much better than that, and and
that's just all because of God. And I feel, really,
I feel really grateful to be where I am and
and to be with who I am. I mean to
be with who I'm with, because like you said, like
I've known Neil since I was sixteen years old, you know,
(06:08):
she recruited me. I've known CEO since I'm sixteen years old.
I've known Charlotte since I was sixteen years old. And
like so many people that I'm around, I consider my family,
you know, like Neo and CEO and Charlotte, these are
people that have seen me grow up. And to throw
like my sister's into it, it's like it's it's been
(06:29):
such a blessing to be here and to see this
program go through the ups and downs right and I've
been a part of a lot of it, you know,
like I've been a part of championship teams, Final four teams,
and then you know, I come back and you know
we were on a low. You know, we were on
a low when I first got back with Coach McGraw
(06:50):
and then and then when Neil took over, and you
dream about being back at the top, you pray about
being back at the top, but you try to stay
present because all that adversity and all those things that
you went through during that time just teach you a lot,
teach us a lot about coaching. It teaches It's taught
me a lot about myself as a person, as a coach,
(07:12):
and to now like be on the other side of it.
That's why I'm trying to stay so present, because I've
dreamed and prayed about being where I am right now,
and it's hard because you're again, you're always looking towards
the next thing. So I'm trying my hardest, like I said,
to be present because I've prayed and dreamed about being
exactly where I am right now, with this team, with
(07:35):
Neo and CEO and the staff that I'm around, and
my people and my family, like it's a blessing. It
really is. I'm so grateful to be where we are
right now, and I'm so grateful for everything, all the
hard times, the losses, the adversity that we went through
as teams and as staffs, and I'm grateful for all
(07:58):
of it because I am where I am because of
all that right now, and I'm just grateful. Like I said,
I'm I'm so happy to be here with this team,
with this staff, and I'm trying to stay present through
all of it.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
Yeah. No, I love that because that's definitely something I've
been trying to work out of my life too, is
just like how do I It's hard? Yeah, I know exactly.
I feel like that's I'm trying to. I don't know,
like people will tell you about it, but then like
you get to your mintorn and it's like, oh wow, yeah,
this really is kind of hard to like not just
be like yeah, like I don't know, because I try,
and you know, when I talk to like my mentors
and like people I really look up to, like like,
(08:34):
well I really want to be here, and like yeah,
but dude, like you know, I didn't get this job
till I was like thirty one thirty teen. I'm like, yeah, yeah,
that's like five years from now, dude, But like, you know,
so trying to remember those things is like key, but
work in progress for sure. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
And you think about like you always wanted to be
like where you are right now, Like I've always wanted
to be here, and I'm here and I'm just trying
to be here, you know, Like, but it's hard, Like
it really is hard. Like sometimes you got to catch
yourself and be like okay, Mike, like you're right here,
You're right now, You're right here, there's nothing else, just
be where your feet are. You can only be right here.
(09:08):
So I think it's easier said than done. But I'm
really really like I know how fast it goes. I
know how fast every season goes. And I was sitting
here in October, like I can't believe it sucks for like,
you know, I now I can't believe it's November. I
can't believe we're in the middle of January, you know,
And it just like I know how fast it goes,
(09:29):
and I know how fast it's gonna go. And I'm
just like I said, this is a very special year
and I know that, and I feel it, so I'm
I'm taking it all in day by day.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
Yeah, and I mean kind of going off that. I
think it's you know, I've been thinking a lot about
Neil's first year just in general lately, because I feel like,
in some ways it was that that year. I don't
want to say like got swept under, but like I
think it's easy to kind of like forget that that
year happened, just because of how crazy everything was with COVID. Yeah,
but just thinking, you know, especially like you know, I've
(10:02):
really gotten to see like Sonia, Olivia, Maddie, all of
them kind of grow up from that. Yeah, obviously that
that first season. If you could kind of put into
words like what that you know, if you can look
back and think about like what the work has been
to get from where that point was, you know, when
when Yelle first came in. Yeah, you retain on staff
and obviously keep going from there, like what was what?
(10:24):
You know? Can you can you kind of like like
what does that feel like? Recognized? Like, wow, shoot, that's
four years ago already almost even longer.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
Yeah, that was such a hard year. I think like obviously,
like COVID was, I can't believe it was four years ago.
But yeah, it was such a difficult time for everyone,
and then to have Neale get the job in the
in the midst of all of it, and being we
(10:53):
were all separated, you know what I mean, Like I
was in Jersey, you know, everybody is all over the place,
and you're and even though I didn't know Neil right like,
it wasn't like I didn't know her, but she's moved
into a new position, so you're kind of everybody's trying
to figure out everything while we're all in separate places.
And then she did an incredible job getting Sony and
(11:16):
live and retaining Maddie, you know, like those key pieces
that we knew we needed to at least start building
what we knew what we could do. And it was
just really hard. That whole year was just you were
just trying to figure it out, you know, like and
making sure you were keeping your kids at the forefront
(11:38):
of everything through all of it, because it was such
a difficult time mentally for everyone. So it was really
just trying trying to establish our culture and trying to
figure out exactly what the pieces we needed to build
the puzzle to a championship team. And I think from
the first year to now year five with Neil, you
(12:00):
see it. You completely see the growth in what we've
put together to build the to build the puzzle, and
none of it's been perfect, none of it has. But
we've we've figured out what we need and how we
need to coach them, and the game has evolved so much.
(12:21):
The girls have evolved so much. It's a completely different
generation than it was five years ago. You throw Nil in,
you throw a different type of kid in now, like
it's completely changed from five years ago. Our recruiting has
changed from five years ago. You know, like you have
to adapt or else you get left behind. So I
think there's so many different things that have changed in
(12:42):
the last five years that we've adapted and we've figured
out exactly the type of player that we need in person,
type of person, type of young woman, type of family,
type of kid that we need to build a championship
team and say, hey, we gotta we have a final
four team year. And it's incredible to see the growth
(13:02):
if it's incredible to be on the journey with Neo
through it all, and like I said, I think we've
build up to that point and it's exciting to finally
to be here.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
Yeah, I think A big reason I want to bring
that up is because exactly like I think, you know it,
I think so often people just you know, again, like
when a year like that happens, when when there is
so much change and you're kind of morphing and figuring
things out, people are like, oh, well, you know it's
Notre Dame, Like you know, Notre Dame, Like the program
name kind of carries more than what that year is
(13:34):
in a way, And I think, you know, you look
at this year and I mean, obviously this year doesn't
happen without having that season and the basis that built.
But exactly like you said, I think kind of tying
back in with being present, like you know, it's easy
to forget all the things you had to do to
get to this point and kind of build that up.
So I thought that was It's just been really interesting
to look back and think on that because also like
(13:55):
how is it that long ago?
Speaker 2 (13:56):
But I know, and it's it's crazy that like live
Sony and Maddie like they're like their seniors, their grads,
you know, like this is this could be it. So
it's so incredible to see their growth and and that
they stuck with it, you know, like they stuck with
it and saw the vision and saw what we could be,
(14:18):
you know, And and I'm so grateful, and I know
Neil is too, to have their loyalty and to know
that they've they've come from there to hear now like
they've been on the same journey that we've been on,
and they've seen it and they've been a part of it,
and they believed and they grew and they they're finally
here and they have such a bright future ahead of them.
(14:41):
But again, it's about being president. It's about being president
right now knowing that their futures is super bright at
the next level.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
Yeah, No, absolutely, And I think part of what's fun
with that too is like I think, out of any
athlete I've ever met, Sony might be the best at
at that aspect, Like I think, and I mean in
the best way too, Like I just think she is
like so good at being tapped out of the outside
noise of stuff. Like I think it's pretty special to
have that mindset at that age. But I really wanted
(15:13):
to talk to you about Sony because like I can
have my own perspective and like having known her and
see her journey. But like for you, obviously I haven't
better position coach being around her as often as you are. Like,
I think one of the things that gets like, I mean,
she gets called underrated all the time, and I get that.
I think part of it is she's definitely a very
quiet person if you don't know her. But like, I
also get frustrated with it too, because I think there's
(15:34):
an aspect of like the people who call her underrated
that people could also probably raid her. But that's another discussion.
But like I think in general, especially in in the
W in college basketball, just in general, like there is
a I don't think people quite get wing players sometimes,
like the value that they can bring, what they can
do developmentally, and that's something that I've tried to like
(15:56):
find ways to explain people, particularly having come from where
the NBA side, Like I just see Sony, I think
I think about possibilities, you knowing everything she could do
at the next level, and like I mean, I was
talking to Maddie the other day, she was like, people
don't see it, but like Sony has the deepest bag
on the team, but she just like is never trying
to do too much out on the court, Like, I
(16:17):
don't know, how do you kind of quantify that when
thinking about what that means for the next level, because
I think, like again, I just I think there's so
much more to her game than that meets the eye
sometimes that you know, you really need to slow things
down and review a possession.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
But yeah, yeah, I think I think people are now,
especially at the next level like the W, people know
her value because when you play on a great team
with a lot of great players, I mean, we have
five to six players that could score twenty every single night.
So that's the same exact thing that you see in
(16:53):
the W. It's the same thing. You have great players,
they're all great, So can you be in a role
that you can still fulfill and be adaptive to what
they need? And that's exactly what she's doing. It's exactly
what she's doing. And I think that people notice that.
(17:14):
People know how good she is and she can be
adaptive to a great team and be incredibly unselfish and
she's always been that way. That's that's how Sony is.
She's been since I've known her. She's very unselfish. She
doesn't want to do too much, she wants to do
whatever the team needs, she's gonna do and she has
(17:36):
a super high basketball IQ. She gets it. She is mature,
she wants to get better all the time. She understands
herself in what she needs to do to feel ready
for every game. For what the next level entails, she
understands it. And I think that she might be underrated.
(18:00):
But I think people are, especially like if when you
look at the next level, like you asked, like they
understand how valuable she is because if you just watch
one of our games, she does so many things that
you don't that fly under the radar. Like you said,
they might not be on a stat sheet, but she's
guarding the best players every night. She's grabbing rebounds, she's
(18:22):
doing things that necessarily, like I said, don't show up
on the stat sheet and aren't like, oh my god, wow.
But she is incredible like in what she does and
does it with the same intention every day, which is
what do I need to do for us to win?
That's it? What do I gotta do? And if I say, Sony,
(18:45):
that means you got to shoot the ball twenty times?
All right, cool, bet I'll do that. I'll do that
twenty times. But that's growth for her. That's growth because
if you talk to her freshman year, it was like
pulling your teeth to shoot the ball. And I was saying,
you're so unselfish, but by you not shooting the ball,
you're being selfish because you're not You're not you're not
(19:05):
doing what we need you to do and what you're
great at. And she's grown in that since then, understanding
what that looks like. And Sony just gets better. She
gets better, She puts the work in. She knows we
have plans every single off season of what she needs
to do we get better. What are the three things
we need to do to make sure that you're ready?
(19:25):
And you know, this year there was a lot more
talk about, Okay, what does it look like they need
to get better for now and what you need to
get better for next year? And you know, her growth
is incredible. But I think that when you when you
talk to to W coaches, they understand what Sony is
and who she is as a player and how valuable
(19:47):
she is and how she's so incredibly adaptive and to
who she plays with, and she can play with five
great players. She's doing it right now. You know they
all are. So it's it's a It's something that is
incredible for a W coach to see, is you can
play around great players and still be effective, and still
(20:08):
be dominant in your own way and have that role
that every single person on the team needs to be successful.
Whether you do have five or six dominant players, everybody
still has a role that they need to fulfill in
order for us to win. Same thing at the W level.
So Tony's so important to us. She knows that, she
(20:29):
feels that, and she's just an incredible player and an
incredible person and someone who's just so easy to coach.
So and I can't wait for what next year the
W brings her.
Speaker 1 (20:44):
Yeah, that makes two of us to close out too.
You know, you hit it on it a little bit
earlier talking about how much things have evolved, even just
in the last five years as a PERM, I wanted
to ask from like a play style standpoint, like obviously
everybody knows pace threes, this that like I you know,
obviously I think it's more diverse still in college basketball,
but particularly the way you guys played Princeton and how
(21:07):
that's evolved over the last five years. Like you know,
when you go from where you when you were playing
to Now, what do you think has changed most in
how you guys prioritize things in the offense or how
you guys have kind of built things around this year
compared to you when you were going to final fours yourself.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
Yeah, I think I think Neal really adapts to what
our team needs. It's not like she doesn't fit the
girls to our system, right, it's fitting our system to
what we feel our strengths are for. So, for example,
like in our first couple of years, we didn't run
Princeton a lot. We didn't we didn't have the personnel
(21:47):
to run Princeton. So now we do, so it's a
little bit different. But I think Neil does a great
job of of not trying to fit the team to
the system and instead fitting the system to teams. So,
for example, I feel like we do run a lot
of the same stuff that we did when I was
in school, especially the last few years with the team
that we've had, but she's added a lot of five out,
(22:10):
a lot of NBA style w NBA style offense to
our team, and a lot of ball screens, a lot
of isolation situations to allow them space to get a
bucket and I think it's all about like you said,
it's spacing, but do you have the team to have that,
(22:30):
and fortunately we have the last few years. But it's
very adaptive. You have to and Neo does a great
job of, like I said, adapting to what our team
strengths are. So as much as it is similar style,
I think to what coach mcgrat did, I think Neo
(22:51):
has incorporated her own style into what we do. And
that's a lot of five out, it's a lot of
five out, it's a lot of ball screen, it's a
lot of ISOs, which I think is very successful for
with the team that we have is spreading the floor
out with our personnel and letting our guards get downhill
and and work and and and get our posts open
(23:14):
looks and you know, when we got to go to
a set to get a bucket for somebody, we do it.
You know, everybody's got their own sets that we feel
like work for for each one of our players. But overall,
I think the game has evolves a little bit more
to that. I think since I played that that you
see a lot more five out, a lot of shooting posts,
(23:34):
players that can pick and pop that you know, five
out you see a lot more I feel like of
that recently since I played, and a lot more freedom
I think. I think uh Neil gives a lot of
freedom to our to our players too, to play with
flair and play with pace and and make mistakes and
all that. I think it's it's a different I think
(23:56):
the game has evolved in that way too, especially with Neo.
But yeah, I think I think I think that's probably
the biggest difference I've seen.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
Yeah. No, I could talk about how much I love
Princeton all day. I think it's so great at like
just teaching reads and making decisions and I think, I mean,
that's what the game is about. But Mike, I know,
I gotta get you out of here. I appreciate your time.
Is there anything you want to shout out before you
out of here?
Speaker 2 (24:21):
No, I just I appreciate you being being on the podcast.
I appreciate you reaching out, and I hope to do
it again soon. But I'm, like I said, I'm I'm
grateful and I'm excited to see where the season goes.
Speaker 1 (24:35):
Yeah. Absolutely, to everyone listening and washing, be sure to
hit like and subscribe down below. Keep up with all
things in Notre Dame Women's basketball, enjoy the rest of
your day,
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