The news that Notre Dame star Olivia Miles will enter the transfer portal instead of jumping to the WNBA is sending shock waves throughout women's basketball. In general, it raises a lot of discussion about how much players can make playing college ball in the NIL era instead of turning professional as soon as thy can.
For Irish fans, it's a cruel knock into reality that no player is safe from the portal no matter how much they have meant to a program. And yet, this isn't the first story about the possibility of Miles going elsewhere.
Miles missed all of the 2023-24 season with an injury, and that coincided with Hannah Hidalgo having a historic freshman campaign. This fueled speculation that Miles didn't feel she could co-exist with Hidalgo in the backcourt, which meant she would look to play elsewhere after that season.
Ivey couldn't answer to these rumors when asked about them during a news conference after the regular-season finale, but she came back a few days later ahead of the ACC Tournament and confirmed that Miles was returning to the Irish for 2024-25:
Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey confirms Olivia Miles is locked in with the Irish amid speculation of a potential transfer.
— Tyler Horka (@tbhorka) March 6, 2024
“She’s crushing it. She looks fantastic. Her comeback is going to be a movie. It’s going to be incredible... Everybody needs to get their tickets right now.” pic.twitter.com/25LMkVpMMQ
Now, one year after the speculation was put to rest, Miles indeed has entered the portal. It's a rough ending to an Irish tenure that should have provided more than it ultimately did.
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