SOUTH BEND ― Maybe this is how it was all supposed to happen.
For Notre Dame football.
A couple of cruel twists of fate and an athletic door that was supposed to stay shut suddenly opens for freshman Mark Zackery IV, who has traded in his man-to-man football cover skills for his man-to-man basketball cover skills and a crash course in playing point guard at the major Division I college basketball level.
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If Selection Sunday had gone differently for Notre Dame football, Zackery wouldn’t be here. If a drive to the basket had gone differently for one Notre Dame basketball standout, Zackery wouldn’t be here.
When Notre Dame football was left on the outside of the College Football Playoff looking in and then decided it best not to play in any bowl that didn’t include the CFP, it freed up Zackery’s winter athletic calendar.
Zackery knew how to fill it ― with basketball. Turns out he was in the right place at the right time at the right school.
Two days before Notre Dame football had its collective heart stomped for all to see, Notre Dame basketball lost junior guard Markus Burton to an ankle injury that will sideline him for an indefinite period following surgery. It might be months before Burton is back doing basketball stuff for coach Micah Shrewsberry.
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The combination of the Notre Dame football season ending prematurely and Burton possible having his season end prematurely allowed Notre Dame cornerback Mark Zackery to become Notre Dame point guard Mark Zackery.
Not long after it was announced that the Irish football program would not pursue postseason of any kind, the wheels were set into motion for Zackery to join the basketball team. Shrewsberry had a thought and talked with Marcus Freeman. Freeman talked to Zackery and with the athletic department officials. The Irish football coach signed off, and Thursday’s announcement was announced.
Zackery is a walk-on member of the 8-3 Irish basketball team.
Earlier this fall when Zackery had his lone post-practice media interview session, the subject of playing basketball at Notre Dame was barely broached. There was no reason. Zackery had already worked his way up the two-deep depth chart behind starting field cornerback Christian Gray. Notre Dame football planned to play deep into January. By the time he caught his breath from football season, basketball season might be almost over.
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With Burton, the Irish were stacked at guard. The rotation includes freshman Jalen Haralson, sophomores Cole Certa and Sir Mohammed and juniors Logan Imes and Braeden Shrewsberry, all key guys. The basketball freshman class, which also includes wings Ryder Frost and Brady Koehler, was ranked among the nation’s best.
A football-basketball double seemingly wasn’t going to work for Zackery, who last played a full season of basketball during his junior year at Indianapolis Ben Davis High School when he averaged 11.0 points, 4.3 assists and 1.4 steals. A left thumb injury suffered during the 2024 football season cut short Zackery’s senior season in basketball.
Zackery, who made 10 tackles with two passes defended and two bass breakups in 10 games in 2025 (he missed only the USC game), will begin practice with the Irish basketball team. He may do enough and learn enough to play in Saturday’s home game against Evansville. If not Saturday, then a week from Sunday, December 21 against Purdue Fort Wayne.
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Zackery is on the roster. It might not be long until he’s in the rotation. This isn’t just a token audition/roster spot.
“He’s exactly what we need,” Shrewsberry told the Tribune.
Zackery likely won’t need much of an introduction to his Irish basketball teammates. In high school, his hoops path at Ben Davis crossed with Burton (Penn), Haralson (Fishers), Imes (Zionsville) and Koehler (Cathedral).
On Dec. 30, 2022, in the Hall of Fame Classic in New Castle, Indiana, Zackery helped “hold” Burton, who averaged 30.3 ppg his senior season, to 22 points, four rebounds and four assists in a 65-53 Ben Davis win over Penn.
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Shrewsberry downplayed any notion of the 5-foot-11, 175-pound Zackery looking out of place on the basketball court. Take a football player, especially a high-level football player from a program like Notre Dame and put him on the basketball court and it doesn’t matter how elite an athlete he is. He looks like a football player on a basketball court.
It doesn’t look right. It looks … weird.
The last Irish football player to play basketball at Notre Dame was John Carlson, who was a backup power forward for the Irish in 2003-04. At 6-foot-6, 230 pounds when he joined the team, Carlson looked less like a power forward and more like a tight end. A future NFL tight end.
Carlson played one minute and had two points and one rebound over three career games. Prior to Carlson, the last time an Irish football player gave basketball a shot was former wide receiver Javin Hunter. He joined the 1998-99 team in late January as a backup guard but never appeared in a game.
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Shrewsberry insists that Zackery won’t look like someone who got lost on the way to Notre Dame Stadium. He’ll look the basketball part. He might play the basketball part.
“He’s long; he’s athletic,” he said. “He’s the only true point guard on the roster who can do what he can do.”
Mark Zackery the football cornerback is now Mark Zackery the basketball point guard.
Funny thing, that fate.
Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on X (formerly Twitter): @tnoieNDI. Contact Noie at tnoie@sbtinfo.com
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Mark Zackery IV plays two sports for Notre Dame basketball, football
