Camden Heide, a 6-foot-6 rising junior from Wayzata (MN) High, is considered the third best player in the Minnesota’s Class of 2022.
Heide averaged 15.1 points per game as he helped lead the Trojans to an 11-17 record this past season as a sophomore, losing to Hopkins 66-56 in the Class AAAA Section 6 semifinals. He scored in double figures in 15 of 23 games with six games of 20 to 29 points and two games of over 30 points. Heide had a career-high 32 points versus Brainerd in an 82-80 win. He missed the first five games of the season with an injury, all losses for the Trojans.
Heide comes from an athletic family. His older brother, Keaton, started five games as a true freshman quarterback for South Dakota State. He completed 85 of 127 passes (67%) for 1072 yards and seven touchdowns with three interceptions.
Heide participated in the 2019 USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team October and July minicamps.
Gopher Hole caught up with Heide at D1 Minnesota AAU practice. Unfortunately, Heide was sidelined with an injury after a recent surgery.
Gopher Hole: What is the latest on your injury?
Camden Heide: I got surgery two weeks ago from tomorrow. I had a Jones’ fracture on my left foot. I got out of the boot on Tuesday and then we go back in in four weeks and get the next update.
Gopher Hole: Was that related to the injury you had last year?
Camden Heide: This was a different injury. I felt this one for about two months and it just kind of got worse, so me and my mom went in for an X-ray and then we found out it was broken. It was a good surgery. It was a clean break, so it went pretty quick.
Gopher Hole: When do you expect to be able to start, getting back in the swing of things?
Camden Heide: Hopefully, five weeks from now. We go back in a month. Four weeks to a month is what I am kind of hoping to be back to physical activity, running and jumping and hopefully, a week or two after that, to get in shape.
Gopher Hole: What has the last three months been like with Covid-19?
Camden Heide: It has definitely been hard to stay in shape. The online school is super different because I am not used to learning through an I Pad and you don’t really have teachers there as a resource. The turn-around time or emails can be a little bit difficult. In terms of working out and lifting, it is a lot of home stuff. I went for a lot of runs and I have a court in my backyard, so when it is at least a little bit warm outside, I try to get in the back and get a good workout in.
Gopher Hole: How many offers are you up to right now?
Camden Heide: 11 (Minnesota, Iowa, Purdue, Xavier, Arizona, California, Nebraska, Iowa State are among the offers).
Gopher Hole: What is the latest one?
Camden Heide: The last one was Xavier.
Gopher Hole: What schools are you hearing from besides the 11 that have offered you?
Camden Heide: I’ve heard from Oregon, a little bit. Arkansas and Gonzaga, a little bit.
Gopher Hole: Are you planning on doing anything with USA Basketball this year?
Camden Heide: I haven’t heard anything from them. We haven’t really gotten any emails from them, but hopefully, I’ll be back there as soon as they have a mini-camp or tryout sometime soon. I haven’t heard anything, but I am planning on going back.
Gopher Hole: What was the experience like playing for your country?
Camden Heide: It is just a great opportunity. All the camps that I have been to, everyone there is just one of the best players for their class in the country, so the competition is there and it is one of the best opportunities that I have had with basketball. I hope to be on Team USA for as long as I play basketball.
Gopher Hole: You are part of a very good AAU team. Unfortunately, you can’t play today, but what are the expectations for you guys. I think that you should one of the better teams, obviously?
Camden Heide: We all set ourselves to a high standard and we know how good that we can be, so every practice and every drill and every workout that we get during this summer is to push everybody and obviously, I can’t play, so it is just encouraging guys. We have a lot of football players, too, so it is just giving them and helping them through the extra reps with words of encouragement and leading and cheering them on.
Gopher Hole: What is the latest with the school’s team?
Camden Heide: We started live on Wednesday and we haven’t heard much about fall leagues or any workouts and playing against any different teams, but I think that we might have a couple of Breakdown tournaments in September.
Gopher Hole: Your mom went to Minnesota and your dad went to Purdue (graduated from Lafayette Jefferson in 1979 and Purdue in 1984). Is there a little rivalry between those two about where you should play or do they talk about that?
Camden Heide: Not really. They are both supportive. I have not really narrowed down my list. I am kind of open to go anywhere right now. I am open and they are kind of open to learning more and having a better relationship with all the coaches that have offered me, My list is big right now and I am super thankful for it, but I have heard from people that it will grow a little bit, so you just hear out options and go from there.
Gopher Hole: Have you even thought when you would even try to narrow it down further or when you would even decide on a school? Have you even thought that far since you still two more years of high school left?
Camden Heide: I haven’t really thought about anything yet. I am just taking it. We can’t really play right now, so I wouldn’t be in front of coaches, but I have kind of a good situation right now. Hopefully, when we can play in front of coaches, I’ll just go from there.
Gopher Hole: Did you get a chance to many college games or campuses this past year?
Camden Heide: Not yet. My brother plays college football, so I was pretty busy on Saturdays. I’ve been to a lot of his games and hopefully, soon, I’ll get to some colleges.
Gopher Hole: What are going to be the main factors that make you pick School A over School B or C?
Camden Heide: The main factors are definitely going to be the location, coaching staff and the academics as well. I think it would be sweet to play close to home. My dad and mom both went to Big Ten schools, so I think it would be pretty cool to stay in the Big Ten.