Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com JUNE/JULY 2020 15 only her second losing campaign in 33 seasons with the Fighting Irish, and the first since the 14-17 finish in 1991-92. It took a tangible emotional toll on her. However, three players did make the ACC All-Freshman team — Sam Brunelle, Anaya Peoples (despite shoulder surgery in January) and Katlyn Gilbert — and a five-person incoming class that ESPN Hoop- Gurlz ranked No. 3 nationally is slated to arrive. "Now looking ahead to know we have a great recruiting class coming in … I feel like I'm leaving the pro- gram in a good place," McGraw said. Be that as it may, the recruiting had begun to slip since 2017 by the stan- dards set in the last decade, when the Irish had a run of seven Final Fours in nine years. During that time, Skylar Diggins, Jewell Loyd, Brianna Turner, Jessica Shepard, Arike Ogunbowale and Jackie Young were all top-five play- ers by at least one service — and that's not including McDonald's All- Americans such as Kayla McBride, Lindsay Allen, Kathryn Westbeld and Marina Mabrey, plus Canada native and top-10 WNBA Draft pick Natalie Achonwa. Over the past four recruiting cycles (2017-20), Brunelle would be the lone figure in that top-five category. Just imagine if McGraw had retired after last season on the heels of seven Final Fours in her last nine years, highlighted by the 2018 national title. Had Ivey taken over then and gone through the growing pains of last year as a first-year head coach, she would have become the likely scape- goat for those woes. "Muffet would have won at least 20 to 25 games with this team!" "This program is wasting away with- out Muffet at the helm!" "Niele wasn't ready to succeed a leg- end!" Instead, the program now has no place to go but up in Ivey's debut campaign. McGraw, who turns 65 in Decem- ber, also has expressed her displea- sure with the way the transfer portal in the women's game has grown, and that can indirectly translate on to the recruiting circuit as well, especially as one grows older. Meanwhile, the COVID-19 pan- demic aided McGraw's decision be- cause extra time provides a chance to listen to one's heart. "It was a big part of it," McGraw admitted. "You don't want to make a big decision like this coming off a season, whether it's a high or a low point. You want to give it some time to reflect. "This was a great opportunity for me to sit back and say, 'What's life without basketball going to look like?' — and I thought it looked re- ally good. I felt really good about this solitude. "I think people were wondering was I climbing the walls, what was I doing at home, was I driving [hus- band] Matt crazy? We really enjoyed this time, and it gave me a great chance to reflect and say, 'What's re- ally important?' "Things like this [COVID-19], and tomorrow is promised to no one. What is your life going to look like down the road? We want to continue to enjoy it. I'm excited about know- ing that I can handle not having bas- ketball in my life." A common thread among the greatest coaches is it consumes every aspect of their life: If you can live without it — that's not a good sign. It often means the competitive fire in Life After Basketball Empowering women became more of a crusade for Muffet McGraw as her coaching career progressed. McGraw has prided herself on having involvement in the community — she has been a leader in mul- tiple food drives in South Bend during the COVID-19 pandemic — and would like to join the Washington Speakers Bureau to further her platform. "I've found that I've turned into a real activist, and I'm really doing that," she said. However, when it comes to running for office on the political trail, she doesn't believe her blunt personality and not just saying what people want to hear on any campaign trail would work to her advantage. "I think I'm a little too honest for politics," she said. Notre Dame vice president and director of athletics Jack Swarbrick would concur given the 12 years he's been her boss. "It is so important to have somebody around who will tell you you're wrong," Swarbrick said of Mc- Graw's candor. "I mean that in all seriousness." Swarbrick outlined three areas where he wants to keep McGraw aligned with the university: • Educationally because of her teaching skills, and providing her the platforms to teach. • Nurturing younger coaches in their development. • Continuing to represent the school publicly. Succeeding Swarbrick as the first woman AD at Notre Dame would be at the bottom of McGraw's totem pole. "Absolutely not," she said. "That's one of the toughest jobs out there — that and head football coach at Notre Dame. There's so much pressure and there are so many different things you have to manage. … "[Swarbrick] has been a great leader for Notre Dame. I wouldn't even want to try." — Lou Somogyi McGraw — shown with her husband, Matt — has been a leader in multiple food drives in South Bend during the COVID-19 pandemic, and will remain involved with the community and the university. PHOTO COURTESY FIGHTING IRISH MEDIA