‘They did it for Cam’
Cameran Wheatley, a 17-year-old senior, died during a game against Ag. Science. On senior night, Bremen played in his honor and picked up an emotional win over TF South.
Senior forward Amir Gause felt like Cameran Wheatley, his close friend and Bremen teammate, was with him Friday night.
“For the past four years, it was always me and Cam,” Gause said. “We were on this team together. We’d go to AAU tryouts together. We’d just hang out and shoot around. It was always me and Cam.
“Even though he wasn’t here in physical being, he was here spiritually and playing through all of us.”
Wheatley, a 17-year-old senior and Bremen’s starting point guard, died Feb. 8 after collapsing during a game at Ag Science.
Playing for the first time since Wheatley’s death, Bremen honored him Friday with the rest of the seniors on senior night. The Braves then went out and earned an emotional 63-56 South Suburban Blue victory over T.F. South.
“Winning this for Cam meant the most,” senior guard Myles Griffith said. “We had a pregame talk before the game. We made all the coaches get out of the room and we just had it for ourselves.
“Amir gave a talk and said, ‘Win, lose or draw, we’ve got to go out there and do it for Cam.’ We had to fight our fight. When there was a minute left, all we thought about was Cam and we had to get the win for him.”
Griffith poured in 27 points to
lead the Braves (10-9, 6-7). Gause scored 17 points and Masson Eubanks added seven.
Xavier Lewis paced T.F. South (15-13, 7-6) with 22 points, while Romello Ali and Jalen Dale each had 11 points.
Bremen’s players, coaches, staff and some spectators wore T-shirts with Wheatley’s photo in the front and his name and No. 1 on the back.
Wheatley was given a standing ovation when he was announced as an honorary starter.
A tribute to Wheatley written by Gause was read by the public-address announcer before the game, with Gause writing “just being around Cam made you smile.”
Gause expanded on his connection with Wheatley after the game.
“When I talked to Cam about things going on in my life and things I was grieving about, he just sat there and listened,” Gause said. “He always listened and tried to give the best advice. He never judged me. He always accepted me for who I was and accepted my flaws.
“I think Cam was the most kindhearted person I’ve ever met in my life. He took a person like me, who I know isn’t perfect, and made his best effort to care about me, take care of me, pick me up from school, practice or games. I think the past four years, I spent
more time with Cam than I spent with my own brothers.”
Gause said Wheatley “was always the positive person when you have a bad day.”
Griffith agreed that Wheatley’s smile was infectious.
“He always had a smile on his face,” Griffith said. “I never saw him without a smile on his face, seriously. Even when coaches got on his butt, he just went out there and made sure he played even harder.
“He always made sure his teammates played their hardest and I’m always going to miss that.”
Bremen coach Matt Humphrey credited his players for pressing on in Wheatley’s honor.
“They showed me a lot of perseverance and how strong they are,” Humphrey said. “They went through an emotional, traumatic experience and kept coming to practice, ready to work. They still came to school. We banded together and got this win.”
There’s no doubt it was a special victory.
“They did it for Cam,” Humphrey said. “I’m sure he’s up there smiling, cheesing and looking down on us.”