Muffet McGraw on Niele Ivey as next head coach

Former Notre Dame women's basketball coach Muffet McGraw says new head Coach Niele Ivey is the perfect person to carry the program forward.

"I think she really can speak their language. And I think when you look at somebody like Niele, her smile lights up the room. She is so charismatic. They flock to her, they look to her. She’s funny, she’s charming. And she can be honest and intense at the same time, so she’s able to flip that switch, which a lot of people can’t do so it’ll be interesting to see her make that switch to head coach and make those decisions. She’s always been giving me suggestions and telling me who to recruit. And pretty much whatever she said, I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s exactly what we’re going to do,'" McGraw said.

Ivey was a player when they won a National Championship, and assistant coach when they won another National Championship. Does she have the ability to deliver a third National Championship?

“She certainly does, but you know it is all about the players. It really is all about the players. It’s about how confident they can get. How soon they can mature. We’ve got a really young team again next year, 10 freshmen and sophomores. It might be 2 years but I really believe that in 2 years, we’re going to challenge for a National Championship," McGraw said.