It hasn't been the best days of late for one South Bend-area high school
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SOUTH BEND − For the third time in five days, and twice only hours apart, your thoughts rolled back to that magical basketball night at Marian High School.
That Friday night in February 2025 with a sellout crowd in the bleachers, parking in the cramped lots at a premium and the school’s biggest rival, South Bend Saint Joseph, on the other bench. That Friday night that allowed Marian to puff its basketball chest over three former Knights who seemingly got it right.
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Who gathered pre-game to laugh in the school’s tiny library. Who were held to the highest of standards at halftime. Who had made it.
That night when former swingman Jaden Ivey stood at halfcourt with his former No. 13 Marian jersey encased in glass. That night when former point guard Demetrius Jackson stood at halfcourt with his former No. 11 Marian jersey encased in class. Their jerseys, their names, would forever hang on the gym’s south wall. Their stories would be told and retold.
They were today’s examples for tomorrow’s Knights.
The jersey and the name of a third, Devin Cannady, joined them that night. Three good dudes. Three great stories.
When you saw those names, you thought of their work on the basketball court. You thought of how they became men. How they overcame obstacles in their lives, lives that weren’t always easy, and became successes. Each one in their own way. They made it.
That night, the guy who coached each, Robb Berger, stood in the shadows next to the stage and beamed over having had a chance to work with such talents. Of the chance to dream of the day when he might coach the next Ivey or the next Jackson at the small private school where family was supposed to mean something.
It was also that night on the south side of Mishawaka when Berger talked about how 2026-27 might be the season that Marian made another March run. All the pieces were in place. Another dream season. Yep, 2026-27 would mean more Marian magic.
Berger couldn’t wait. It was going to be special.
Today, Berger is out of a job, fired by Marian last week after 19 seasons as part of the program. Today, the 31-year-old Jackson has two misdemeanor battery charges pending against him stemming from an alleged altercation that happened while he practiced with the Knights — an IHSAA violation that led to Berger’s dismissal —in preparation for the team’s Class 3A regional championship game (and subsequent loss).
Th incident occurred, of all places, on Demetrius Jackson Court. If not for the financial generosity of Jackson, who played three seasons at Notre Dame before leaving a year early and becoming a second round pick of the Boston Celtics in 2016, maybe the Knights still toil on the old dusty, worn down floor where Jackson became a McDonald’s High School All-American.
His name is on the court. Eventually, he may be in court as case number 71D08-2603-CM-000804.
Hours after the news of Jackson, word arrived that the 24-year-old Ivey had been released (essentially fired) by the Chicago Bulls after controversial comments he made about the NBA and its relationship with the LGBT community. It’s not Ivey’s first controversial comment about society on social media. The deeper you dig, the more disturbing it gets.
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While Ivey and Jackson deal with their demons, Cannady seemingly lives a quiet existence as a professional basketball player in Greece. He’s married. He authored a children’s book. He has a degree from Princeton. He also has been open about his own mental health struggles.
Three former Marian players, all seemingly with issues. Can it be a coincidence?
Thirteen months ago, Ivey and Jackson (and Cannady) were gold standards for area high school kids. Look at them. They found a way out and figured it out. They had stories that were worth telling, stories of kids who made good on their dreams and were living their best lives.
Ivey overcame being raised by a single parent (Notre Dame women’s basketball coach Niele Ivey) to become a college All-American and the highest NBA draft pick in South Bend basketball history. Raised in foster homes, Jackson went to Notre Dame, where he struggled, then succeeded.
Jackson still lives in the area and works as a personal basketball trainer, a business that you wonder about going forward. No reason justifies (allegedly) grabbing a kid around the neck. Ever.
A gruesome broken left leg in January 2025 robbed Ivey of his lightning quickness, and the chance to be a cornerstone of the Detroit Pistons’ rebuild. In early February, he was traded to Chicago. In late March, the Bulls announced they were shutting down Ivey for the rest of the season, presumably to get his leg back to full strength.
The Bulls held a $16 million qualifying offer for the final year of Ivey’s rookie contract. He’ll instead become an unrestricted free agent. Has he played his final NBA game? Has Jackson tutored his last basketball prodigy?
Both seemingly were set. Both are cautionary tales. Real life has intervened. How will they handle it? Can they handle it? They need help. They need guidance. They need this story to have a happy ending. They need belief in better days away from basketball.
Better days in life.
Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on X (formerly Twitter): @tnoieNDI. Contact Noie at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Marian boys basketball alums Jaden Ivey, Demetrius Jackson deal with real life