Hannah Hidalgo talks expectations, ferocity in plays
SOUTH BEND, Ind – In just 22 games, the New Jersey native has shaken up the college basketball world with her record breaking stats on both sides of the ball.
Even if you're not a basketball fan, chances are, you've heard the name Hannah Hidalgo.
Just over halfway into her rookie campaign, Hidalgo is the fastest in program history to score 500 points, set the record for most points by a Notre Dame freshman, tied the ACC record with 10 Rookie of the Week awards, and is the fastest division one player to 100 steals in the last 25 years, while leading the nation in steals per game.
Many fans view the phenom as one of the best players in college basketball. Hidalgo's response was,"I think everybody has their own opinion. Some people think I'm one of the best, and then others might think not. But you know, everybody has an opinion."
A humble response for someone averaging over 24 points a game, six and a half rebounds, five assists, over five steals. The question is, was this level of production expected from the 5'6" guard out of South Jersey?
"Yeah, I mean, no, I didn't have any expectations. You know, coming into the game, I just, you know, I knew God would, you know, bless me, I didn't know how he would bless me. I never thought it would be like something so great, as you know, what I've been doing recently, but I truly just think up for all the blessings," Hidalgo added.
At this point, the media is searching through their thesaurus to find new ways to describe Hidalgo's game. So, why not ask the source?
"I think I would say fierce. I think I'm a dog, you know, I like to play with that kind of fire, and you know that, that edge," Hidalgo said.
"I like to play really aggressive, and you know, get all up in people when they're dribbling and stuff like that. And you know, if I get to and one of my teammates and one just screaming loud, I think that's really fierce," Hidalgo added.
Often times when you see Hannah, she's likely the smallest player on the court, but she packs a ton of grit and emotions throughout the game. Not afraid to express herself after big plays. Whether it was her or a teammate.
"I mean, when we're watching film, I mean, we have this like little highlight reel that we do before every game and it always starts off with me screaming and you know, me yelling for whatever reason, like an and-one, a block or something like that. So, I think it really, if I it definitely fires me up. And I feel like it helps my teammates out to just kind of give them that energy," Hidalgo said.
As expressive as she is on the court, Hidalgo would actually consider herself an "introvert", until she gets between the lines.
But even with all the success in so little time, Hidalgo gives thanks to God for everything. The nationally known freshman star says it's been her way of remaining humble.
"Everything that I have comes from God. So, it's important that everyone knows that, you know, God is the one that has given me these talents. And obviously, I'm not ashamed of my faith. And I know the Scripture talks about not being ashamed of God so I make sure that everyone knows that what I had today is because of God and I'm not ashamed to mention it," Hannah added.