Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo Approves of Dwyane Wade's 'Dog' Description of Her Game
Notre Dame Fighting Irish superstar sophomore Hannah Hidalgo has caught and kept the attention of the women's basketball community during this 2024-25 season.
While she cemented herself as one of NCAAW's best freshmen one season ago, most consider her to be the favorite for the NCAA Women's College Basketball National Player of the Year award right now. She is currently averaging 25.9 points and 3.9 steals per game for the Irish, who are ranked No. 3 in the country and have produced some extremely impressive wins.
One basketball icon who's keeping an eye on Hidalgo is NBA legend Dwyane Wade, who discussed how impressed he is with her during a December 20 episode of his Evolution podcast.
"Everybody, we better learn [Hidalgo's] name," Wade said after initially struggling to pronounce her last name. "Like, I've heard about her, and you know you hear some, you see some. I watched the game [on December 12] against UConn — and I love Paige Bueckers, I'm a Paige Bueckers fan — wow.
"She's like 5'6" and she's a dog," Wade continued of Hidalgo. "Averages like 7 rebounds a game type dog. And... when we say dog and hoop, that means something. This is a hoop term. We talking in hoop terms."
He then added, "Getting a chance to watch her... but this one right here, I was like 'Man, let me really tune in and let me watch.' Bro. Go. Shout out."
@HannahHidalgo is making her name known in women’s hoops. 🏀 #WyNetwork #NotreDame #DwyaneWade pic.twitter.com/Zyn0lbQZbB
— Wy Network (@wynetwork) January 7, 2025
Hidalgo clearly appreciated this respect thrown her way because, she responded to the above clip of Wade praising her with, "🙏🏼🙌🏼," on X.
— Hannah Hidalgo (@HannahHidalgo) January 7, 2025
We imagine that many more people will turn into Hidalgo fans once they witness her play.
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.