Basketball is a world Destiny Jackson was introduced to at an early age. Growing up in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Destiny remembers watching her cousins and family members play the game and becoming interested in beginning a journey of her own in the sport. Little did she know, but over the next few years, she would embark on a journey that would allow her to play at the highest level while inspiring others to become the best version of themselves on and off the court. Throughout her high school career, Destiny continued to learn about the game, master its fundamentals, and explore her passions beyond the floor—playing at Northrop High School for two seasons before transferring to Snider High School. Upon graduation, she unlocked a new chapter in her basketball journey and began her collegiate career at Loyola University Chicago. She hasn’t looked back since. During her time at Loyola, Destiny has not only elevated her basketball IQ further, but she has also pursued her passions off the court—founding her “Embrace the Balance” podcast and curating an annual streetball game in Fort Wayne alongside Austin Mack called the Mack Fest. Currently in her sophomore year, she is looking forward to making an impact on the floor this season, growing more within the game, and using her platform to inspire the next generation of athletes.
Diving into your journey early on, you played at Northrop High School before transferring to Snider High School. Could you share more with us about your time at each institution?
Absolutely! Northrop was a school I went to because of one of my cousins that played there—Richard Robertson. He was one of those cousins that played basketball, introduced me really to the sport, and exposed my love for it. I kind of just wanted to follow him in that sense, so I ended up being at Northrop. There is where I created a really good relationship with the head coach that I had, Rashida Muhammad, and she was a big mentor to me in a lot of my development on the floor and off the floor. I think my experience there really cultivated me for college. We weren't the best team, but a lot of the things that we did and went through prepared me to do more when it comes to the next level—in (having) to work hard in other areas and actually building relationships with people. When it comes to Snider, I cultivated another great relationship with our head coach there at the time, Akilah Sims. She was somebody that was coming off of a professional career and a former coaching career, so the relationship that I had with her along with a really, really good group of freshmen that were there at the time was really nice. I built a lot of relationships with all the players as well. There (were) about four freshmen that I really built good relationships with and I still talk to this day—Jordyn Poole, Nae Nae Donahue, and Destini Craig. I loved it there. Like I said, I still talk to those girls to this day. I still talk to Coach Akilah Sims—she’s now at Western Michigan as an assistant (coach) there. She helped me and guided me a lot when it came to not only making decisions as a basketball player, but as a young woman.
How do you think your game elevated throughout your time in high school to prepare you for the next level?
The summer between my sophomore year and my junior year, I remember Coach Rashida Muhammad picking me up every day and just getting in the gym. Just working. When I was a freshman at Northrop, I (want to) say there were eight seniors—so the whole Varsity team was eight seniors, two juniors, and two freshmen. I was one of the freshmen and I didn't get to play much. I wasn't satisfied with how much I didn't play, but understanding that I was behind eight seniors, put things into perspective. Then, going on to sophomore year and realizing like: “Even though I didn't play, now I'm in a position where I have to play and I have to produce in order for us to win or have results.” So between sophomore and junior year, that summer, I think we hit it hard to prepare me as a better junior and a better leader for my team. I can't even tell you what I did that summer besides basketball and weight room because we worked so hard that summer (*laughs*). I would say that elevated (my game); and then during COVID just working in the weight room on agility, lateral movement, (and) things of that nature—that really cultivated and elevated my game.
How was that transition from high school to college like for you? What were some challenges that you faced early on?