OLIVIA MILES pushes the ball up the court as she beats her defender on the fast break. There is a clear path to the rim. The crowd gasps with surprise as Miles throws a long bounce pass ahead to freshman KK Bransford. Bransford plays in Notre Dame's season opener against Northern Illinois.
Miles jumped off her back foot and intercepts a pass. She pulls up for a jumper after dribbling between her legs. On a fast break, she sprints to the right with the ball and then passes to a cutting Westbeld for a layup.
Whether she's making a one-handed pass, finishing with flair at the rim or showing off her handles, it's impossible to not be interested in what she's doing.
Basketball is fast paced. Things happen at certain times. The rhythm is disrupted byMiles. At times, her unconventional choices, like throwing a one-handed pass across her body with her left hand, might appear to be ill-advised. Defenses don't usually see it coming.
She dances like a character from the TV show. Notre Dame's 5-foot-10 do-everything engine is trying to power the Fighting Irish back into title contention.
Notre Dame missed out on the NCAA tournament after winning the national title and falling in the final game in 2019. The Irish had a losing season for the first time in 25 years. Nine straight 30-plus-WIN seasons came to an end with their 13-18 record.
A program that was sinking fast was taken over by a long time assistant. I knew it was a rebuild.
The first early enrollee in Notre Dame women's basketball history arrived after the first eight games of the season. She thought she had something.
You need to get the head of the snake and the point guard. I needed someone who could make a difference immediately. That is whoMiles is.
The snake has been around for two years.
She sounded more like an invader than the top recruit. Her first practice at Notre Dame was unforgettable. She would rather forget it.
It was the middle of the 2020-21 season, and Miles had just put her high school education on fast forward, grinding through her classwork and graduating a semester early.
She walked into Notre Dame's practice gym and saw people she hadn't seen before. It was supposed to be Miles who would turn it around.
Miles remembers tearing up. It was overwhelming. I didn't feel right. I was not sure if I could overcome that feeling.
The towns where Miles grew up seem to be the same. The border of New Jersey and Pennsylvania is where the town ofPhillipsburg is located. She went to high school 45 minutes up the road at Blair Academy, a prep boarding school, after attending a private catholic school. SouthBend has a catholic school in Notre Dame.
There was a new level of competition and a new school forMiles. It was difficult to practice. The classes were difficult.
The kid that the Irish guard met on the first day of practice seemed quiet and reserved.
She trusted in her abilities right away, but I wouldn't say she got comfortable immediately.
They did too. When she took over the Notre Dame program, Miles was one of the first people she called. Miles committed on the second day of work.
In a loss to Syracuse, Miles picked up four fouls in 14 minutes and scored four points.
Back to that first practice. One moment stands out to me. The ball was dribbled up the middle of the floor by Miles. Miles passed the ball in the corner. She hit the shot after catching it in step.
The two of them had an immediate connection. This is going to be great.
The fun didn't last long. The Irish finished with a 2-4 record, including a season-ending first-round loss to the Tigers in the conference tournament.
It appeared that the road back to the top of the game was very difficult.
It took just months for her father to recognize her physical gifts.
He says she would walk if you held her hand. She was walking on her own by the 8 month mark.
She usually has a ball in her hands. She started playing soccer as soon as she could walk according to her father.
He found his daughter playing basketball when she came to the after-school program. He was watching and waiting forOlivia to finish. He was watching and waiting the next day. The next will be repeated. She was put in an instructional program so she could learn to play.
Like a favorite old teddy bear,Olivia brought soccer along with her, and that sport continues to influenceMiles' basketball game to this day. She played both sides of the ball in high school. The passes on the break are similar to threading a through ball on the counter attack. She and her teammates are drawn from the same bag of tricks as a soccer step over.
The Blair Academy girls' basketball coach says that she is beating the person on her. She is trying to move the help defense with her shoulders and hips so that she can make a pass. She'll notice someone she thinks can get a shot, and she'll just move that help defender a couple steps with a decoy and snap the pass out there.
The results have made people gasp.
She is a former Notre Dame point guard. She'll make it happen because she'll see the plays that she's interested in. Sometimes it is her finish. She has an elite finishing package and will finish in a way that I have never seen before.
An open line of communication is maintained by a former point guard to a current point guard. Notre Dame's success is dependent on it.
I like talking to her about what I see. I ask her lots of questions. Do you see anything? Maybe a better decision would have been made. I try to be transparent with her and let her know what I need. She can play with that sense of freedom if I do that as her coach.
She has the freedom to follow her instincts.
Miles says you have to take that risk. It's important to have the confidence to pass the ball down the lane or make a through ball. Both of them are emulating each other.
Through the international game, Miles keeps in touch with soccer. She doesn't root for a specific team but rattles off a list of players she likes.
She likes to play a game calledFIFA. She's confident in her abilities regardless of where the challenge comes from.
"PlayStation's right out there," Miles says when I tell her I'm also a fan of the game.
Notre Dame looked poised to make a leap a year early. NC State, the region's top seed, was knocked out of the Sweet 16 by the Irish in the first season of Miles' career. Notre Dame led by seven at the end of the third quarter. The first half was dominated by Miles, who scored 15 points on 6 for 10 shooting and dishing the ball.
She was quiet in the second half as the NC State defense focused on her.
On the Sooners' home court, Notre Dame beat Oklahoma108-64 in the second round. The Fighting Irish had shown flashes of greatness, but were unable to sustain it.
On this night, it was the case in Connecticut. NC State erased a seven-point deficit in the fourth quarter and went on to win the game. Notre Dame had five turnovers in the last quarter. In the fourth quarter, Miles shot 2-for-7 from the floor and 0-for-4 from the 3-point line.
"I think we should have gone to the Elite Eight and beyond," Miles says. That was really frustrating for me.
After the season ended, Miles asked Michaela to watch the film of the game, and she did. She wanted to see her mistakes in person.
The woman was hungry after the game. She was hungry because she thought we should have won.
A trip back to the Final Four was one of the highlights of Notre Dame's season. After that loss, she knew she needed to change. She wanted to increase her endurance during the off-season. She focused on getting better sleep and eating better food as she ran down-and-back between drills.
"Last year we had a short bench, so I got a taste of staying in the game a long time and sometimes I couldn't do it, but I'm fine with that," he says. I didn't want to ask Coach Ivey for a sub this summer. You don't have to ask for a sub or come off the floor if you're in shape.
Miles was pushing the pace in games and practices. She ran as fast as she could with the ball. It would have worn her down last year. Being winded has not been an issue so far. The goal for the summer was to win a national title.
She came to Notre Dame because she was challenged in the classroom. She likes the challenge of getting people to pay attention to the program.
He wants to bring Notre Dame back to its glory days. I've been running under the radar for a long time. I feel like there is an advantage to that.
That loss to NC State hurts. She says fuel for this year is a must.
While sitting in a tall chair inside of Notre Dame's film room, Miles crosses her arms across her chest as she considers her performance in the season opener. She says she wants to be transparent. I was not happy.
Her shooting is the cause of her disappointment. She was 5-for-14 from the field and 1-for-4 from the outside. She had 17 points, 10 Rebound, 6 Assists, and 6Steals. It's the sort of souped-up stat line that has become standard for the sophomore guard, who last season became the first freshman in NCAA history to have a triple-double.
She is careful about how her self-critique is seen, but she is quick to be candid with her flaws. She says she had a good game and doesn't want to sound like a bad person. If I want to reach that next level, I have to not miss those shots that I did, but I am proud of myself for coming out and starting a season like that.
She has always been more comfortable with deed than words.
She is seen by those around her a lot. She's careful with her words and never wants to say the wrong thing. She has heard that she is unapproachable, but that is not how she sees herself.
Miles says that a lot of people say that he gives them dirty looks. I'm not mean, but I'm very shy and quiet. I'm not making you look like a criminal. I assure you.
Michaela said it was quite the opposite. Miles is looking at the situation from a different point of view. An emerging leader should be like that.
Mabrey says thatOlivia is a very gentle person. She knows why people are the way they are.
South Bend's newness has abated. While strangers have become teammates, old acquaintances have become friends.
The link is food.
The food in New Jersey is great. It's better than Indiana, where it's just food. There is no mother and father.
There is a roll. The bagel has egg and cheese on it. There is a bowl. The pizza was delicious. The Mabreys bring a bit of New Jersey to Indiana for Miles when he thinks of food from the shore. Part of Jersey is sometimes included.
Michaela says the bagels and pizza are what it is.
The sophomore brought a tie to the East Coast.
The No. 16 recruit was from Eastchester, New York. They met at an all-star event while waiting in line with their fathers, who are both very quiet.
Both of us were shy. We were like, "Oh, hey." A quick grin. Didn't say anything.
Miles blossomed from a shy girl in line to the quiet but confident leader at Notre Dame as she watched from the sideline.
A lot of the things she does are due to her confidence. It's incredible to watch. It makes people feel better.
To get the ball from Westbeld, MILES JOGS to the top of the key. It's midway through the first quarter in Notre Dame's game against Ball State, and the Fighting Irish trail by two points. Her back is rounding toward the ceiling as she sizes up her defender.
Miles dribbles the ball from her left to her right and takes a step towards the basket. The Ball State player is trying to stay with her. As Miles steps back behind the 3-point line, the defender sees empty space in front of her.
The shot was taken by Miles and he gave Notre Dame the lead. As she returned to defense, Miles said it was on fire.
Don't call him flashy despite the evidence.
Miles says that he has always had a negative perception of that word. Being flashy is doing too much according to me.
It is expected of Miles to do a lot in the scoring column in her sophomore season. In Notre Dame's 35-point victory over Ball State, her stat line included 13 points, 7 rebound, 11 assists, and she was named the game's Most Valuable Player.
Miles says that he's a pass first point guard. I have been trying to be more aggressive to the basket.
Sue Bird is the first player Miles mentioned as a basketball influence. The classic point guard was embodied by bird. Bird was more of a John Stockton than a Magic Johnson.
"I like to compare myself to her because she loves setting people up and being a leader for her team." I try and copy what she does. Not a lot of style.
A Sue Bird-style execution. She loves to watch and emulate players such as Stephen Curry and Trae Young. Miles likes to move things. She likes to surprise people.
If it's not flashy, what?
She says it's saggy. It's a good way to put it.
When she first sees a defender, she stands still. She knows how and when to move. There is no sound in the moment before that happens. Just before she flicks her wrist for a cross-court pass or just before she flashes her foot into a jab step is the moment. She is still able to jump through the air and drive to the basket despite her hesitation.
Defenders are put on their heels by the quiet. They may think they know what Miles is going to do. They could try to jump a screen or stab a foot at her. Miles is looking behind her goggles. Her mind is active but her body is still.
The leader of this blue-blood women's basketball program is a sophomore point guard named Miles.
Her sophomore season is off to a good start with 15.7 points, 6.7 assists, 7.0 rebound and 2.7 steals. She leads the team in a number of categories.
After opening the season with six straight wins, Notre Dame experienced their first taste of adversity when they lost to Maryland, 74-72. With 55 seconds to go and Notre Dame trailing by two, Miles sprinted up the court towards the basket. Miles swung the ball off the backboard with her right hand as she was called for a foul. The Fighting Irish were on top for a short time. She was at her best, but not enough. There isn't time to be upset.
The next game is against Connecticut on Sunday. Notre Dame has lost to Notre Dame by an average of 21.5 points in the past two meetings. Two of the best sophomores in the country will face off in a match.
The performance of the Fighting Irish will tell a lot about their readiness for a national title. It will give a lot of information about Miles. Two years ago, the child who was lost at her first practice was coiled to hit.
Miles says that it made him grow up in a lot of different ways.
One thing is certain, Miles will finish in traffic with one hand. A defender will be lulled to sleep by her.
As she goes, says assistant coach Michaela Mabrey.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
