Tag: Niele Ivey

Two Massive Recruits Pick Notre Dame

Niele Ivey hasn’t been on the job for even a week but has already landed commitments from two big-time recruits in the 2021 recruiting class.

You only get one chance to make a first impression and if new Notre Dame women’s basketball coach Niele Ivey’s first 100 hours on the job are any indication, she’s going to be an elite head coach.

After accepting the position and officially taking over for the Hall of Famer Muffet McGraw, Ivey has already landed two elite recruits to the 2021 class.

Not even 48 hours after the announcement of Ivey taking the job Notre Dame landed the second-rated player in the entire 2021 recruiting class, Olivia Miles.

Miles is rated as the top point guard prospect in the nation but wasn’t the only huge recruit to commit to Ivey and Notre Dame.  Just a couple of days later it was fellow five-star prospect Sonia Citron, the reigning Gatorade New York Player of the Year.

The 6-1 guard Citron averaged 23.8 points and 10.6 rebounds per game while leading Scarsdale (Ursuline) to a 24-0 record.

Citron and Miles are both huge gets for Ivey who I’d imagine will have great success at recruiting and developing guards.

Watch: Welcoming Niele Ivey Back to Notre Dame

Let’s not pretend Niele Ivey is going to easily settle into her new role as Notre Dame’s women’s basketball coach.

Let’s not pretend Niele Ivey is going to easily settle into her new role as Notre Dame’s women’s basketball coach. Not only is she facing the tough task of filling the shoes left by the legendary Muffet McGraw as one of her former players and assistant coaches, but she’s inheriting a program coming off its worst season in years and a far cry from what it’s known for. Still, the university is welcoming the St. Louis native back with open arms after a year away from South Bend. And the fact that her predecessor has the utmost confidence in her abilities speaks volumes:

Taylor Jenkins: I’m so excited for …

Taylor Jenkins: I’m so excited for Niele and this wonderful opportunity to return to her alma mater, where she spent so many years as a player and as a coach. In her first year with the Memphis Grizzlies, Niele made a lasting impact on the floor, but even more so off the floor through her relationships with the players, fellow coaches and staff, including the relationship we built coach-to-coach. Niele is going to make a huge impact in the lives of the women who come through the Notre Dame program, both as players and people, because that’s who she is – a difference maker in so many respects.

Niele Ivey Named New Notre Dame’s Replacement for McGraw

Ivey remained an assistant on Muffet McGraw’s staff through the 2018-19 season before spending this past year as an assistant coach with the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies.  Now she’s back at Notre Dame for a third time, this time to replace the legendary McGraw.

Niele Ivey played for Notre Dame in parts of five seasons between 1997 and 2001.  She left the university as a student-athlete in 2001 on the highest of notes as the All-American point guard was a huge part of the Fighting Irish’s squad that won the first national championship in program history.  She then went on to play in the WNBA until 2005 before beginning a coaching career that led her back to Notre Dame in 2007.

Ivey remained an assistant on Muffet McGraw’s staff through the 2018-19 season before spending this past year as an assistant coach with the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies.  Now she’s back at Notre Dame for a third time, this time to replace the legendary McGraw.

Here is Notre Dame’s official release on Ivey’s hiring:

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – There’s no place like home under the Golden Dome. James E. Rohr Notre Dame Director of Athletics Jack Swarbrick announced Niele Ivey (‘01) as the fourth head coach in women’s basketball history on Wednesday. 

Ivey was the common link to all nine of the program’s Final Four appearances, two as a player and seven as an assistant coach, logging a combined 17 years on Notre Dame’s campus. Ivey spent the past season honing her craft as an assistant coach with the Memphis Grizzlies, before returning to follow in Muffet McGraw’s footsteps.

Ivey will address Irish fans as the new Karen & Kevin Keyes Family Head Coach for the first time on Thursday, April 23, at Noon ET as part of a virtual press conference. 

“I am so honored to be able to follow in the legacy that Coach McGraw built here at Notre Dame,” Ivey stated. “My love and appreciation for Coach McGraw is beyond anything I can express. She’s more than a mentor, more than a friend, she’s one of the most influential people in my life. I am full of gratitude for Coach McGraw and what she has done for me.  She was the first to give me an opportunity to play for Notre Dame and coach here as well. I will forever be grateful for her love and support. I would also like to thank Jack Swarbrick and Father Jenkins for having the faith to move this program forward with me. I can never thank you enough for this incredible opportunity.”

The Irish went 386-55 (.875) during Ivey’s time patrolling the sidelines as an assistant. Notre Dame’s recent decade of dominance (2010-19) had Ivey’s handprints all over it – no other program had produced more trips to the national title game (six), and the Irish posted the third-most wins in that span, as well (339). 

That decade also consisted of 14 conference championships (eight regular-season plus six tournament titles split between the BIG EAST and ACC), seven Final Fours and a 2018 national championship. 

“I am thrilled Niele will be the next leader of the Notre Dame basketball program,” Muffet McGraw said. “She’s one of the best young coaches in the game today and her success with the Grizzlies has helped make her even more prepared for her new role.

“What sets Niele apart is her ability to connect with all generations — alums, her current team and future student-athletes. She will be a fantastic role model and a leader in the women’s empowerment movement, and she will represent Notre Dame in a way that will make our fans proud.”

The inaugural recipient of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Division I National Assistant Coach of the Year Award in 2016, Ivey has thrived in all aspects of the game, including player development, scouting and recruiting. 

She tutored the likes of All-Americans Skylar Diggins-Smith, Jewell Loyd, Lindsay Allen and Arike Ogunbowale. Coach McGraw consistently entrusted her with the toughest scouts, earning key victories over squads from UConn, Maryland, Tennessee, Louisville, Baylor, South Carolina and Texas A&M. In addition, Ivey helped Notre Dame attract Top-12 recruiting classes in nine of her last 10 years. 

Over Ivey’s last eight years with the Irish, Notre Dame ranked in the Top 12 in field goal percentage, scoring offense and assists. In her most recent season at Notre Dame, the 2019 Irish took home the statistical championship for top scoring offense in the country, averaging a program record 88.6 points per game.

“Father Jenkins and I have every confidence that Niele Ivey is the perfect person to build upon the legacy established by Coach McGraw,” Swarbrick stated. “As a player and as a coach, Niele helped Notre Dame women’s basketball perform at a championship level. She understands Notre Dame and what it takes to help young women reach their potential here. We look forward to working closely with her in the years ahead.”

Ivey expanded her basketball prowess when she stepped away from Notre Dame to accept an assistant coaching position with the Memphis Grizzlies for the 2019-20 season. Ivey proved to be a true trailblazer, becoming the ninth active female coach in the NBA.

Over the past year, Ivey helped develop a young team, with a new coaching staff, into a playoff contender. The Grizzlies currently sit as the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference during the league’s COVID-19 suspension. Ivey worked with several different position groups with the Grizzlies, but primarily with standout point guard Ja Morant, a favorite for NBA Rookie of the Year honors.

“I want to express gratitude for the Memphis Grizzlies organization, especially Zach Kleiman and Taylor Jenkins,” Ivey added. “I am so incredibly thankful for the opportunity to be on their staff and to be a part of such an amazing organization. I have had the opportunity to learn and develop from Taylor and I’m so grateful for his amazing leadership and expertise. I developed a family in Memphis and I am so blessed.”

In her playing days, Ivey was an All-American point guard and three-time All-BIG EAST selection, going 109-22 in an Irish uniform and capping her collegiate playing career with a title run in 2001. Ivey went on to play five seasons in the WNBA after her selection by the Indiana Fever in the second round of the 2001 WNBA Draft. She spent four seasons with the Fever, helping them to their first playoff berth in franchise history in 2002.

Ivey joined McGraw’s staff in May of 2007, and the rest was history. 

It seems last fall was never a “goodbye;” it was simply a “see you later.” Welcome back, Karen & Kevin Keyes Family Head Coach Niele Ivey. 

 

Stunner – Muffet McGraw to Retire

Legendary women’s basketball coach Muffet McGraw announced her retirement on Wednesday. Find out all the news on this shocking story here.

Shocking news out of South Bend on Wednesday afternoon as legendary women’s basketball coach Muffet McGraw is retiring.  McGraw has not only coached the Notre Dame women’s team since the 1987-88 season but turned them into one of the top programs in collegiate sports.

McGraw released the following statement on Wednesday:

McGraw led the Fighting Irish to 24 straight NCAA Tournament appearances beginning in 1996, a streak that would have ended this past year had the tournament been played.  In that stretch she won a pair of national championships while reaching the final five more times and the Final Four three more times.

McGraw retires with the seventh most coaching wins in the history of women’s basketball, compiling 936 wins between her five years at Lehigh before her 33 seasons at Notre Dame.  McGraw finishes with a career mark of 848-251 at Notre Dame and went 425-97 in Big East and ACC play.

McGraw was elected to the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011 and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017.  She was also awarded 10 different coach of the year awards in her time with the Fighting Irish.

Former Notre Dame player and McGraw assitant Niele Ivey will be the next head coach.  She takes the post after working most recently as an assistant coach with the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies.

More on the story as it comes but an absolute stunner to see a legend like McGraw, who would perhaps be on the Mt. Rushmore of Women’s Basketball coaches all-time, retires.