INDIANAPOLIS — Purdue, the lone Indiana team playing in this year’s NCAA men’s tournament made a quick exit after an overtime upset at the hands of North Texas.
The Boilermakers are a young team, with no seniors and four freshmen on the squad.
Freshman Jaden Ivey is something special, and it runs in the family.
His mom says they’re a tightknit family.
“Very close. We’re extremely close,” said Niele Ivey. “You know, he’s like my best friend.”
It’s a bond built on love and basketball.
The game has always tied them together. After a decorated career at Notre Dame, Niele was drafted by the Indiana Fever. During 2002, her rookie season, Jaden was born, so he grew up going to work with mom. She watched as her son grew to a 6'4" highly touted recruit.
“He was so competitive growing up. Every team he was on, he always wanted to be the best player and was always trying to get into the gym early and all that kind of stuff. He took losses pretty hard. That’s when I realized he is competitive, like he wants to win.”
Mom and son have traveled the basketball journey together for the last 19 years. This year is a special one for them both. As Jaden began his college career at Purdue, Niele also began a new chapter, returning to Notre Dame as head coach.
“We can lean on each other because we’re both going through it for the first time, and it’s both of our passions and dream,” Niele said. “I think it’s really cool because we literally text each other every morning, support each other and after my losses, he’s like ‘mom, you’ve got this.’”
Niele has had to rely on DVR a lot to watch Jaden this season, but she’s made it to a few games in person. The biggest was back in January, when Jaden, who had been struggling for weeks offensively, hit the game-winner to beat Ohio State.
“My mom, I was thankful she was able to be here, I was in tears,” Jaden said. “We both love this game so much and I just love her so much, and I’m thankful for her.”
“It was just such an amazing moment, maybe one of my favorite moments of our life together,” said Niele. “It’s amazing to see who he’s become, to have created his own lane, his own journey. He has worked to get where he is right now. To me, that makes me even more proud to be his mom."
