Odds are coming into the Purdue basketball game Thursday against Rutgers, Cam Heide wasn’t on the scouting report of the Scarlet Knights.
It would be easy to look over the redshirt freshman, as the 6-foot-7-inch forward had scored just 12 points over the last nine games for the Boilermakers.
As, Rutgers learned, however, it was a mistake to look past Heide, who made quite an impact and helped lead Purdue basketball to a resounding 96-68 win over Rutgers.
The Boilermakers held a four point lead when Heide entered the game, and the lead rapidly swelled. Heide came in and nailed back-to-back three pointers to push Purdue basketball ahead en route to a 52-33 halftime advantage.
“Cam gave us a big lift off the bench with every shot he took,” Purdue basketball coach Matt Painter said.
Heide was a perfect 7-of-7 from the field, drilled four three’s and finished with a career high 18 points. It marked his first double digit output since the season opener against Samford.
Painter said he was proud of the performance from Heide.
“You sit there and wait and you know you are getting in there in the first half, may not get in there in the second. He’s been solid on both ends. Tonight, he was able to show his skill, his athleticism and he stayed within himself. He’s got a great attitude and you see his upside there. He’s already a good player. He just needs more of an opportunity,” Painter said of Heide.
For Heide, he said it was a matter of confidence.
“I’ve been working a lot with Sasha and PJ. They give me confidence. When you have teammates around you that give you confidence, it’s a lot easier to play. Coach Lusk keeps telling me stay patient, stay ready,” Heide said.
For Heide, the output was something he had been preparing for.
“Coach tells me every day, ‘Just keep plugging away, keep going at it,’ because eventually I’m gonna have a night like tonight. I’ve just got to be ready for the teammates around me and to know when they give me the ball to make the right play,” Heide acknowledged.
While some may have been surprised with Heide’s performance, his teammates were anything but, especially Zach Edey.
“None of us were surprised by it. We all know what kind of work he puts in and what kind of talent he has,” Edey said.
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