Former Boiler Camden Heide Reflects on Time at Purdue Ahead of Sweet 16 Matchup
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Thursday night is going to be unique for Camden Heide and his former teammates. The 6-foot-7 forward spent three seasons at Purdue and decided to enter the transfer portal following the 2024-25 campaign. Now, he'll face off against two of his friends in the Sweet 16.
No. 2 seed Purdue and No. 11 seed Texas will meet in San Jose on Thursday night for a chance to advance to the Elite Eight. It will be the first time the Boilermakers have squared off against a former teammate.
What makes this particular matchup so unique is that Heide was a member of Purdue's 2022 recruiting class, alongside seniors Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith. A foot injury forced him to redshirt his freshman year, but he played a role off the bench in the previous two seasons.
Heide might be wearing a burnt-orange uniform on Thursday, but he still reflects fondly on his team at Purdue and believes he'll forever be associated with the program.
"I would just say the love and support from Purdue fans. It's a great university. I'm so happy I was a Boilermaker. I'll be a Boilermaker for life," Heide said in a video posted by WISH-TV's Anthony Calhoun. "Everyone in my family went to Purdue, and I still have a little bit of family that lives there. It was super special to me to be a Boilermaker. I'm not sure there are many athletes who have been a part of two universities like Texas and Purdue. I feel very blessed."
Heide is a big reason why Texas is in this position. In the second round of the NCAA Tournament, the junior wing buried a three-pointer from the corner late in the second half, giving the Longhorns a four-point advantage on No. 3 seed Gonzaga with less than 15 seconds remaining.
Purdue coach Matt Painter said he was able to see Heide's big shot last weekend.
"That was great. I was happy for him," Painter said with a smile. "Very similar to the shot he made last year against Houston in the corner. He was more open on this shot. Houston did a good job challenging — he hit a tough shot for us to put us in position, going down the stretch. I like Cam, I was happy for him."
Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer talk about the matchup
The reunion with Heide will be something new for both Smith and Loyer, too. While both acknowledged the interesting aspect of the matchup, both guys are still focused on winning the game.
"He was with us when we committed at Purdue, but this is my first time doing that," Smith said. "I don't know. Obviously, he chose a different path, and obviously, we supported that and wanted what was best for him. That's what he thought it was. It's just a basketball game."
Heide was part of a Purdue team that reached the National Championship Game in 2024 and was a key player for a squad that made it to the Sweet 16 a year ago.
"It's a little interesting just because that's a guy that we lived with for two, three years," Loyer said. "Spent a lot of time with him, put in a lot of work with him, but now it's the Sweet 16, so it's time to go and time to focus on that."
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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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