Prospect Spotlight: Christian Heilbuth (2020)
Christian Heilbuth, who is heading into his senior season at Siouxland Christian, was the top shot-blocker in the state of Iowa last season with 156. That was eight more than Oskaloosa's 7-foot-0 Xavier Foster had last season and Heilbuth played in two fewer games. Not only did the 6-foot-6 power forward find success on the court last year, but the Eagles as a team drastically improved under first-year head coach Nelson Wilson. That should be beneficial as Heilbuth heads into his final season.
"The past couple years we've been a really young team", said Heilbuth. "This year we have a lot of seniors (and) we have a good senior class. We got some transfers to come in and have some other good players that are good additions to the team too."
While much of the focus was on his impressive performance as a shot-blocker, he also averaged 15.5 points per game and recorded a team-high 208 rebounds and 45 assists. Heilbuth mentioned that he's been working with former Bishop Heelan standout and D-I player Brennan Cougill the past few months to help him expand on his post-game. He also was in the weight room all summer as well.
"(Christian) was his biggest enemy because if he missed a few shots he would get on himself big time," said Head Coach Nelson Wilson. " He's put a ton of work in as far as the weight room and on the court. We're going to see a big difference with him."
He has the talent to cause problems for opposing teams in the post, especially with the presence of 6-foot-5 junior Cameron Pierson on the other side of him. We've seen what Heilbuth can do on the defensive end, but are looking to see how much he improves around the basket on the offensive end.
Thus far, the main three that have been in contact with Heilbuth are Dordt College, Midland and Northwestern College. All three are at the NAIA level. He's also heard from Division III schools and a few at the Division-II level.
