Breaking News: Jewell Loyd speaks for everyone at Notre Dame with Niele Ivey verdict
Jewell Loyd paid tribute to Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey after a WNBA preseason game in South End between the Las Vegas Aces and Paige Bueckers’ Dallas Wings
Friday’s WNBA preseason exhibition between the Dallas Wings and Las Vegas Aces had an extra bit of Irish flavor than most, and it also marked Paige Bueckers’ debut.
Like most preseason contests, the game was held in a neutral venue: the Purcell Pavilion, home of the Notre Dame women’s basketball team. Arike Ogunbowale on the Wings joined Aces stars Jackie Young and Jewell Lloyd, all in attendance on Friday, to make it a trio of former Notre Dame guards who made the All-Star leap in the WNBA.
Fighting Irish head coach Niele Ivey paid a visit to watch her school’s stars light up the hardwood, even though she didn’t coach any of them. Ogunbowale, Young, and Lloyd all played under legendary coach Muffet McGraw, still active with Notre Dame players herself.
Even though she never played for Ivey, Lloyd had nothing but praise for the 47-year-old coach when asked about her.
“I think a lot of players have a good relationship with her, and she has so much passion for the game, and she is family to me. I think she just has a really, just compassion for the players, honestly,” she said.
“And to see where she’s able to take the program and have it under her wings… it’s not easy to come in after McGraw and have your own identity, and she’s [been] able to do that.”
Ivey, a two-time ACC Regular Season Champion with the Fighting Irish, shared a hug with the three stars postgame after a 112-78 Aces win. Young had the best game of the three, scoring 28 points while adding nine assists.
“Nothing greater Jackie. Jewell. Arike. Welcome Home! I love you and I am so proud,” Ivey tweeted, sharing photos of the three players in action and in close proximity on the court.
ESPN recently tried to crack the question. Part of the answer is McGraw: the two-time National Champion-winning coach led Notre Dame to nine Final Fours and is one of the greatest developers of basketball talent ever.
“They call it ‘Guard U’ for a reason,” said Young, the 2019 ACC Tournament MVP at Notre Dame. “A lot of great guards have come out of there. Notre Dame does a great job of preparing us for the next level.”
McGraw credited someone else: Skylar Diggins. The all-time great passer, still going in the WNBA, transformed the Fighting Irish program when she arrived in mid-2000s.
“When Skylar came in, it just went up another notch. She changed our program.” McGraw said, “You saw the success with her, and she was so charismatic. She was popular on social media, and she became nationally known. And it helped us recruit the guards that followed her.”
