GOING PLACES
Wooster’s Heller makes a name for himself in wheelchair basketball
“Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” by Dr. Seuss could have been written to describe Evan Heller’s wheelchair basketball journey — at least a few parts of the book anyway.
“Congratulations! Today is your day. You’re off to Great Places! You’re off and away!”
Recent “Great Places” for the 2020 Wooster High School graduate are Mexico last week for the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation U23 America’s Zonal Qualifier and Arlington, Texas, for the National Intercollegiate Wheelchair Basketball Tournament with Auburn University.
Heller’s U.S. team in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, finished first so he will be off to another “Great Place” in September — Phuket, Thailand to play in the IWBF World Championships.
“Surreal wearing those three letters across my chest with a gold medal!,” Heller wrote in a Tweet after his team earned gold in Mexico that he posted with a photo of him holding an American flag and wearing the “USA” uniform. “Very grateful I got to be a part of his amazing team.”
“Wherever you fly, you’ll be best of the best. Wherever you go, you will top all the rest. Except when you don’t. Because, sometimes, you won’t. I’m sorry to say so but, sadly, it’s true that Bang-ups and Hang-ups can happen to you.”
When Heller, who was born with spina bifida and a heart condition that required surgery when he was an infant, moved to Wooster from Columbus in middle school, the prospects of doing what he really wanted to do — play sports — didn’t look promising.
There wasn’t adaptive hockey, which he played in Columbus, or much else he could play. And the real possibility of another heart operation was hanging over his head — it still does — though, so far, yearly checkups haven’t shown he needs one.
State’s first wheelchair basketball team
Lisa Followay and wheelchair basketball changed that outlook.
Followay, the executive director of the Adaptive Sports Ohio organization, approached Heller’s dad, Scott, in a city park after she saw an adaptive hockey sticker in his car window to ask him if his son would be interested in playing on a wheelchair basketball team she was helping start at Wooster High. It would be the first high school wheelchair basketball team in Ohio.
What started as something fun to do when he was in eighth grade turned into three state titles for him and the rest of the Wooster wheelchair team and an athletic scholarship to Auburn.
“It is amazing what he has done all because Wooster started a wheelchair basketball team and us moving to Wooster right when that was starting,” Scott said. “He never would’ve gone to a school like Auburn, and there’s a professional league in Europe and the senior
U.S. team he could eventually play for.”
“You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.”
After the three state championships and a 54-0 record at Wooster, Heller, who also has played for the Junior Wheelchair Cleveland Cavaliers team, was recruited by several wheelchair basketball programs besides Auburn, including Alabama, Illinois and Missouri.
He became the first Ohio wheelchair basketball athlete to earn a scholarship. There has since been another from the Tallamadge school district who earned a scholarship to Edinboro University in Pennsylvania, according to Followay.
When Adaptive Sports Ohio approaches school districts about starting wheelchair basketball teams, Followay said, Heller’s story is often mentioned.
“Athletes with disabilities can go on to earn athletic scholarships in college,” she said. “There are not a lot of expectations for people with disabilities, so Evan’s story helps. Not all will play in college like Evan, but the opportunity is there.”
When Heller graduated, there were six wheelchair basketball teams in the state. Now there are eight, and Followay said five or six more are anticipated for the next school year.
Growth at Auburn
His growth as a player and leader at Auburn helped Heller earn a spot on the U23 U.S. team and have a solid showing in Mexico, said his coach for both teams, Robb Taylor.
“Evan has been a big part of our program (at Auburn) and I am excited to see that he had the opportunity to take his skills to the U.S. team,” Taylor said. “He has put in countless hours to perfect his craft.
“He showed that he was ready for that stage,” Taylor added. He has always been a great shooter, something we rely on quite a bit here at Auburn, but he was able to take that to the next level and shot really well for Team USA.”
“You’ll be on your way up! You’ll be seeing great sights! You’ll join the high fliers who soar to high heights.”
Heller was one of 40 players invited to tryouts for the U23 U.S. team in Birmingham, Alabama. The selection process started in October and, over a couple of months and several tryout dates was narrowed to the dozen who represented the U.S. in the qualifier, which also included two other players from Auburn.
Playing with those two and the other players who he usually plays against was fun, Heller said, adding that he also enjoyed hanging out with them at the beach, in stores and for meals.
Another new experience he enjoyed was playing real games on outside courts, which Heller said was both “weird and cool.” Rainy weather ended the tournament before the championship game between the U.S. and Brazil.
Because the U.S. beat Brazil 66-58 earlier in the tournament, the U.S. was awarded first.
Since the top two teams advance to the World Championships, Brazil will join the U.S. in Thailand in the fall. Mexico and Canada were the other teams in the tourney.
“I never had a basketball game rained out before,” Heller said. “That’s a story to tell — a basketball game getting rained out.”
“Oh, the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done! There are points to be scored. There are games to be won. And the magical things you can do with that ball will make you the winning-est winner of all.”
Since winning in Mexico, Heller said, a lot of his friends and people in the community have reached out to congratulate him.
He appreciates the support he has received from his hometown, where he wants to eventually return to be a special education teacher and maybe a wheelchair basketball coach.
“And will you succeed? Yes! You will, indeed! (98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.) KID, YOU’LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!”
“Evan has been a big part of our program (at Auburn) and I am excited to see that he had the opportunity to take his skills to the U.S. team.
He has put in countless hours to perfect his craft.”
Robb Taylor
Auburn and U23 U.S. team coach, on Evan Heller