Jaden Ivey comes to Purdue as one of the better guard prospects in the Class of 2020, with an opportunity lying ahead for him to perhaps make a profound impact for the Boilermakers right away next season.
He's a talented player, but also one shaped by his upbringing and experiences.
He just spent his senior season at LaLumiere School, one of the top prep school programs In America, a year In which he also spent some time around the NBA, as his mother, Nielle Ivey, spent a season as an assistant coach with the Memphis Grizzlies. The former Notre Dame women's basketball star and long-time Fighting Irish assistant coach has since been named the head women's coach at her alma mater.
She begins her new opportunity as her son begins his. Jaden Ivey enrolls at Purdue in coming weeks.
Last week, GoldandBlack.com discussed this with him, and more.
GoldandBlack.com: What did you take from the time you were able to spend around the Grizzlies, the look you got into life in the NBA?
Ivey: "I was able to get to some games, and saw their routine, how they warm up, Ja (Morant) and Jaren (Jackson), how they warm up and things like that. I just took that like, 'This could be me one day.' You have to lock in every time you get the opportunity. I was blessed to have a chance to be around greatness and high-level talent and see how everyone's mindset is every game."
GoldandBlack.com: This has been quite a spring for your family, as you're going off to college and your mother's taking over at Notre Dame.
Ivey: "We're just enjoying every chance we have left before I go off to college, and now she starts her new journey as a head coach. Just enjoying these last few weeks and living in the moment. We're both blessed to be involved in the game itself. The game has definitely blessed the both of us."
GoldandBlack.com: What's sort of your general expectation for or general approach to your freshman year?
Ivey: "Just day by day try to get better. I'll be a freshman and will take in what the coaches are giving me and learn everything I can not just from the coaches but the players who've been there in a freshman's shoes. I want to learn everything I can and whatever the coach wants me to do, I'll do."
