After Battles With Confidence, Camden Heide Plays Pivotal Role in Purdue's Win Over High Point
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The confidence issues that Camden Heide talked about earlier this season seem to have faded into the distance. The sophomore wing played a pivotal role in Purdue's 75-63 win over High Point in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, recording the first double-double of his career.
Heide ended Thursday's first round game with 11 points and 10 rebounds. He iced away the game by throwing down a wide-open dunk with 44 seconds remaining, giving the Boilermakers a 73-60 lead. That slam secured the sophomore's double-double as well as a victory for Purdue.
It was a big moment for Heide — a player who has gone through plenty of ups and downs over the course of the 2024-25 season. Yet, in the biggest game of the season, he produced the best performance of his career.
"I think it's just being ready, honestly," Heide said following Thursday's game. "I think it goes for a lot of people in this room. Even if you don't know it, everybody can struggle with confidence, everybody can go through ups and downs with life and on the basketball court.
"You can never be too high or too low — anything can happen at any moment. It's about looking forward to what's next, there's always another opportunity to play, another opportunity to compete. That's what we're here to do."
To understand the significance of Heide's performance on Thursday, you have to rewind back to November. In the first two games of the season, the sophomore had scored just two total points and collected only five rebounds.
Then, on Nov. 11, Heide had a nine-point, six-rebound effort in a 92-84 victory over Yale. It may not have looked like much on the stat sheet, but those buckets came at pivotal times in the game. Afterwards, he revealed that he had battled confidence issues to begin the year.
At the time, he said he was relying heavily on his teammates for support and encouragement.
It's been no different for Heide over the course of the season. Perhaps the greatest motivator for him has been Braden Smith, who has been barking at the sophomore to start taking more shots when he gets the opportunities.
"Braden has been on my ass a lot for me not shooting the ball. Why would I not want that? Why would I not want someone pushing me?" Heide said. "I think he's the best player in the country, definitely the best point guard. It's a great thing."
The opportunities for Heide aren't as frequent as they are for Smith, Trey Kaufman-Renn or Fletcher Loyer. As of late, though, the sophomore has taken full advantage of the chances he has gotten.
Heide was four-of-six from the floor in Thursday's win over High Point, which included a pair of three-pointers. He's now connected on 14 of his last 20 shot attempts from the floor. He's also crashing the glass at a high rate, grabbing 10 in Thursday's win and 11 in last week's victory over USC in the Big Ten Tournament.
Right now, Heide is playing with a lot more confidence than he did at the beginning of the season. It's not just the success on the court that is providing that extra jolt, it's the work he's put in since Purdue started practicing in June.
"Here, everybody is ready, everybody puts the work in," Heide said. "When you put in so much work, how could you not be confident? You go out and you shoot 300, 400, 500 shots per day in the middle of the season, why would you not be confident?
"I think it comes from everybody. It comes from Coach Painter, it comes from the staff, it comes from everybody on our team wanting to be ready, wanting to help us win."
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of ''Purdue Boilermakers on SI.'' He has more than a decade of experience covering the Big Ten. Follow Dustin on X at @SchutteDustin.