Northern Heights’ Cameron Heiman looks to make impact at Washburn

And he has his mom to thank.

“Well my mom was the first person to put a basketball in my hands,” said the 2020 Northern Heights graduate. “I had one of those basketball goals you put on a door and would pretend I was in the NBA.”

He started turning heads at the age of 7.

“It wasn’t until 2nd grade I started playing in a league for my church,” he said. “We were the Celtics and it was at that moment my mom knew I was going to be an athlete as I would steal the ball from the other team and dribble up the court with either hand and make layup after layup.”

Thus, the beginning of a special player in Wildcat Country. For the next 10 years, headlines about Heiman popped up all over North Lyon County.

“In my middle school years, we kind of came out of nowhere in the (Flint Hills) League,” Heiman said. “The year before we were right in the middle and then my eighth-grade year, we didn’t lose a football game, basketball game, or even a track meet. I set a touchdown record in football and my grandpa would have a notebook where he kept my stats and I averaged 18 (points) a game with 8 assists (in basketball). There weren’t many times where our starters would play a full game just because it would be a blowout.”

Stardom found Heiman in high school.

“My high school is very small and in the middle of a cow pasture. In my senior year for basketball alone, I averaged 25 points, 7.6 assists, and 5.4 steals per game,” he said. “I was unanimous first-team all-league, First Team by the Wichita Eagle, and Flint Hills Optimist All-Star.”

Hitting a buzzer-beating shot is every kid’s goal. And Heiman’s most memorable clutch shot occurred his junior year against Lyndon.

“We were down one and had the ball under our basket. I passed it into our post player and as that happened, I received a down screen into the wing and received the ball and made the game-winning shot,” Heiman said.

Situations like that were made possible by hours upon hours of shooting baskets well after practice had ended.

“Every day I go for an hour to two hours just to work on my game through simulations, drills, or footwork. It can also be a good stress reliever being in the gym,” he said.

Basketball was important to him because it’s more than just a game.

“The friendships I’ve made, the places this game allowed me to travel, and the family I’ve created along the way is why it is so important to me,” he said.

Colleges began contacting him the summer before his junior year. But not for basketball.

He was a standout quarterback for the Cat football team. He threw for nearly 2,000 yards passing and another 2,000 rushing yards with 30 touchdowns in his senior year.

But basketball was No. 1 with Cameron.

“It wasn’t until the start of my junior year towards the end of the football season that I started getting contacted by basketball coaches,” he said.

Playing college basketball wasn’t just for him. It was for his family.

“It had always been a dream of mine,” Heiman said. “My mom first put a basketball in my hand, but it was grandpa who coached me from 3rd grade to 9th grade in travel basketball and rec league. I wanted to do it with the extra motivation from them. I’ve always wanted to make them proud.”

Heiman also wanted to prove that even kids who went to school next to a pasture could ball in college with the best of them.

Heiman joined Steve Anderson (Johnson County Community College/Southern Mississippi) as the only Northern Heights Wildcats to play college basketball.

Heiman originally signed with Adams State in Colorado.

“I chose Adams State because I felt like the coach believed in me the most and knew my potential and was going to help me get to the best version of myself,” he said.

Heiman said he matured in the time he was there. That was followed by the pandemic.

“I undoubtedly made a rational decision being in the middle of a pandemic and being 12 hours away. If anything bad happened to my family, I would have been very upset with myself,” he said.

He left Colorado and drove all night to come home. But the Northern Heights mastermind had a plan.

“I contacted Washburn as soon as I put my name in the transfer portal,” he said. “I knew one of the coaches from high school and he and I texted and called and he said there was a spot for me but I would have to earn it as I am coming in late. So, with a lot of hard work and him already seeing and knowing my game from high school, he was able to get me on with Washburn.”

Now his family could drive the 30-minute drive up the Turnpike to watch their favorite Wildcat. He redshirted his freshman year.

“I’d still practice with the team, watch film, etc,” he said. “I would always make sure to be the first one in practice or conditioning, getting shots up. It became a habit in high school and I carried it over to college. I would easily shoot 1,000 shots a day. I don’t keep track, but I am in the gym shooting for an hour and a half to two hours nonstop.”

That persistence and work ethic paid off for the Northern Heights graduate.

“It means a lot to be in such a small percentage,” he said of the small fraternity of college basketball players from Northern Heights. “I hope to inspire future Wildcats that nothing is impossible, and no matter the circumstances put in front of you, if you work hard and are willing to sacrifice a little, there’s nothing you can’t do.”

He doesn’t have to look far to see who looks up to him the most.

“Being the older sibling is like being a third parent almost,” he said. “I enjoy taking them to the backyard and teaching them about what I know. Koston is 10 and he has the IQ of a good basketball player. Cohen, who is nine, plays a lot like me. He is able to drive to the basket and score when most players his age are still learning the fundamentals. He’s always played up with Koston and they have good chemistry with each other. They are both playing travel basketball and I get to coach them.”

Cameron listed several people who got him to where he is today. His Mom, Angel. His Dad, Nick. His Grandma and Grandpa. And “all my teachers I’ve had, my school counselors, Coach French, and his family.”

He’s taking care of his grandparents and their house this summer. You can also find him painting houses and mowing lawns.

When basketball practice begins this fall, Heiman will don the blue and white of Washburn University where his lifelong dream of playing college basketball comes to fruition.

Not bad for a young man who has attempted Steph Curry-like practice shot attempts and has sweat enough over the years to fill a nearby farm pond. He can’t wait to start showing MIAA teams how the step-back three is really shot.

“I hope to be remembered as someone who always did the right thing,” Heiman said. “I care more about how people view me as a person, rather than being some great athlete and a bad attitude.”

Just a great kid who’s living out his dream. That’s Americana at its best this 4th of July week.