College Basketball Expert Names Purdue's Potential 'Breakout Player' in 2024-25
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With Zach Edey, Mason Gillis and Lance Jones gone, Purdue is going to need a few other guys to step up during the 2024-25 season. College basketball expert Jon Rothstein believes that player will be sophomore forward Cam Heide.
This week, Rothstein released his list of "20 under-the-radar breakout players" for the upcoming college basketball season. He believes that Heide has a great chance to make an impact for Matt Painter and the Boilermakers.
"Heide averaged 13.7 minutes in six NCAA Tournament games last spring for the Boilers and is primed for a bigger role in 2024-25," Rothstein wrote. "Don’t discount this guy from being a starter for Purdue up front alongside Trey Kaufman-Renn."
After redshirting during the 2022-23 season, Heide was a role player for Purdue's Final Four squad last season. He averaged 3.3 points and 1.9 rebounds per contest while appearing in all 39 games. The Boilers finished with a 34-5 record, winning a second straight Big Ten title and reaching the National Championship Game.
In early September, Painter spoke with Rothstein on the College Hoops Today with Jon Rothstein podcast and mentioned Heide as a potential breakout player.
"(Sophomores) Cam Heide and Myles Colvin, in terms of returnees, are both guys that could (step up), just because they didn't have as many minutes. Fletcher Loyer could make that jump, but he's played 30 minutes (in the past). He could just have more of a usage," Painter said.
CAMDEN HEIDE PUTBACK DUNK FOR PURDUE 😱🤯 pic.twitter.com/iZ2VVOxJK1
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 9, 2024
Heide flashed serious potential at times during his time on the floor last season. He had a monstrous dunk in Purdue's loss to UConn in the National Championship Game. Earlier in the year, Heide scored 18 points while shooting seven-of-seven from the floor in a win over Rutgers.
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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