How Notre Dame will implement five-star early enrollee Cassandre Prosper

Christmas came early for Notre Dame women’s basketball. Five-star signee Cassandre Prosper will join the Fighting Irish at the end of the month and will be eligible to play for nearly the entirety of Notre Dame’s ACC schedule. That schedule isn’t nearly as inviting as an elite mid-season roster addition.

The No. 5 Irish (8-1) are the first of four consecutive top-10 ACC teams in the most recent Associated Press poll. They play the No. 6 Virginia Tech Hokies (10-0) on the road Sunday. North Carolina (8-1) is No. 7, and North Carolina State (10-1) is No. 8. Notre Dame plays the former on Jan. 8 and the latter on Jan. 29.

Prosper won’t be suited up in blue and gold for the game against the Hokies, and she won’t be with the team yet for next week’s game versus Western Michigan on Dec. 21, but it’s possible Prosper will be an option for head coach Niele Ivey when ACC play resumes after Christmas. She should be getting acclimated with the Irish by the time the matchup with the Tar Heels rolls around.

PROMOTION: Join for only $10 to unlock premium access until the start of the 2023 football season

Not every head coach will have a 6-2 forward with guard skills waiting for them under the tree this year. Ivey is fortunate to be coaching an early enrollee for the second time in the last three seasons, too. Current sophomore point guard Olivia Miles was the first player to enroll early in program history in January 2021.

Prosper joins a team led by Miles that currently ranks second in the country in points per game at 88.2.

“I’m hoping it’s a seamless transition,” Ivey said. “You never know. I think she’s ready. She’s ready for college. She’s extremely bright academically. She fits exactly what we need on and off the court.

“On the court, she’s an incredible athlete. Great guard. Can score at three levels. And she’s relentless. She’s going to bring that competitiveness, high IQ and a scoring prowess that can do nothing but help us.”

Notre Dame currently has two guards who come off the bench; freshman KK Bransford and graduate student Jenna Brown. Bransford plays 21.4 minutes per game while Brown plays 10.9. The early feeling is Prosper will push Bransford for some of that time on the floor. They’re not the same type of player, however.

Bransford is a loose-ball hound who can mix it up with opponents in the paint. Prosper prefers to float around the perimeter a bit more. She has length that can cause problems for opponents in passing lanes. Offensively, she stretches the floor with shot-making ability. But like Bransford, she can also slash and score on the dribble or off the ball.

This is an Irish team that already has go-to options in Miles, arguably the best point guard in the country, sophomore guard Sonia Citron, graduate student guard Dara Mabrey and junior forward Maddy Westbeld. Centers Lauren Ebo and Kylee Watson seem to add an effective yin and yang element; when one is off, the other is on.

Prosper isn’t going to be depended on as a first-look option. But if she can do like Bransford and average somewhere in the neighborhood of 8.2 points per game as a first-year player, Notre Dame’s potential is greatly heightened.

Ivey’s message to Prosper? “I just want her to be her.”

“She’s a worker,” Ivey said. “She’s one of the most hard-working, competitive people I’ve ever seen. She’s going to do whatever I ask. She’s going to run through a wall, and she’s going to be a sponge.

“My advice is ask a lot of questions. Just play hard. I’m going to try to simplify things for her because we are so far into the season. I’m going to try to make it very seamless and easy for her.”

Notre Dame went into the season with nine scholarship players. Prosper makes 10. If they all stay healthy, Ivey has an issue not many foresaw. She might have a wealth of riches that makes it difficult to get all 10 players on the floor throughout the course of 40-minute games.

“Adding another incredible player, a great player, is only going to enhance our program,” Ivey said. “This team, they’re so close. They’re so excited about her. We’re just adding a great person and a great player to our roster, which is going to be incredible for the ACC.”