When Things Got Tough, Purdue's Cam Heide Relied on Purdue Family for Confidence
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Tentative, hesitant and unassured. Those words might be used to describe Cam Heide's play in Purdue's first two games of the season. The redshirt sophomore just didn't seem to have the same confidence level he played with last year.
We might have witnessed a change in Heide's mentality on Monday night against Yale. He made some big plays on both ends of the floor in the second half, helping the Boilermakers secure a 92-84 victory and improve to 3-0 on the season.
Heide hit two important 3-pointers and collected a pair of rebounds within a 2:30-minute span in the second half, giving Purdue a 70-60 advantage with 8:22 to play in the game. He finished the contest with nine points and six rebounds.
"Yeah, I'd say it was a pretty good feeling," Heide said of his performance on Monday night.
In the first two games of the season, Heide had accounted for just two points, five rebounds and a block. He passed up a few good shot opportunities in the opener against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. He didn't even attempt a shot from the floor against Northern Kentucky.
Some self-doubt might have creeped into Heide's mind. He had hit a slump. But his teammates — past and present — were there to offer full support.
"It starts with the guys in the locker room keeping me encouraged," Heide said. "Lance Jones even sent me a text today — I won't say exactly what it was — but it was encouragement. It's a family here. Everyone wants everyone to succeed. It's a good feeling when you have everyone cheering you on. They know I passed up a few open shots, but they trust me to make those when it comes to me again."
Belief in Heide's game comes from the top down. After the opener against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, coach Matt Painter was more frustrated with the shots Heide declined rather than the two he missed.
"You're a 40% 3-point shooter," Painter said. "Let it rip."
Finally, Heide was willing to take his coach's advice. It didn't come in the first half, taking just one shot and pulling down one rebound in six minutes on the court. In the final 20 minutes, Heide recaptured that spark he played with all throughout the 2023-24 campaign.
Maybe seeing the ball go through the net will help him restore the confidence he has in his game.
"I think you kind of get your confidence from the work you put in. The more you put in the work, (the more confidence you have)," he said. "But, you know, when you see shots not falling in practice and games, it helps to have people around you cheering you on and wanting the best for you. A lot of it is your own mindset and having the confidence in yourself from the work you put in. It is good to have people around you in a family aspect to cheer you on."
Coming into the season, Heide was one of the players expected to make a big leap from his freshman season to his sophomore year. He was coming off a campaign in which he averaged 3.3 points and 1.9 rebounds per game while logging just over 12 minutes per contest.
Flashes of Heide's potential were sprinkled throughout the season. He scored 18 points in a blowout win over Rutgers last year, making all seven shot attempts from the floor. He dropped 10 points on Utah State in the second round of last season's NCAA Tournament.
And who could forget Heide's putback dunk against UConn in the National Championship Game, one of the most athletic plays from last season.
For whatever reason, Heide didn't quite have that same spark in the first two games, but he might've rekindled that fire on Monday.
"It was great to see Cam get some opportunities." Painter said. "He hadn't had a lot of opportunities, but he went up and got a few key rebounds for us, made a couple big threes."
Time will tell if Monday night's win over Yale was the turning point for Heide. It comes down to the confidence he has in himself, though. His teammates and his coaches have assured the sophomore that he's capable of being a major contributor for Purdue.
"Sometimes, when you can't pick up yourself, you need other people to pick up for you," Heide said. "We have a family here and we have teammates that want the best for each other. We're here to pick each other up."
Related stories on Purdue basketball
FLETCHER LOYER BEATS THE BUZZER: Purdue guard Fletcher Loyer beat the buzzer, knocking down a triple as time expired in the first half in Monday's game against Yale. He had 12 points at the break. CLICK HERE
PURDUE CLIMBS IN ASSOCIATED PRESS POLL: After a 2-0 start to the 2024-25 college basketball season, Purdue has moved up one spot in the Associated Press poll. CLICK HERE
