Lake City's Heise will continue to grow his game at Upper Iowa

Sep. 29—LAKE CITY — Over the last four-plus years, Ryan Heise kept growing and growing and growing.

And now that his growth spurt has slowed, it's his basketball game that could reach new heights.

Heise's height shot up 14 inches over the past four years. He wasn't a gangly newborn deer on the court at Lake City, he was a very accurate shooter from the outside. But he was hardly a polished player either.

What Heise did have was loads of potential, and a number of college coaches saw what they considered a bright future for the 6-foot-9 guard/forward. Now as Heise closes in on the start of his senior season later this fall, he will enter having the piece of mind that he has made his college choice. Heise recently announced his commitment to Division II Upper Iowa University in Fayette, Iowa.

"It was a perfect fit," Heise said.

He came to that conclusion after touring the campus, talking with players and coaches and considering academic possibilities and factoring in the distance to Lake City.

Heise was primarily an outside shooter for the Tigers during his first two seasons on the varsity. As a junior, he averaged a modest 9.6 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. But Heise's extra training and the fact that he's starting to "grow into his body" could help take his game to new levels this upcoming season.

"He's been working incredibly hard," Lake City coach Greg Berge said. "I think because his body is starting to slow down the growth, it's allowing his strength and physicality to start catching up."

The 17-year-old Heise said most of his recent growth spurt occurred when he was 14 and 15 years old. But even in the past year he has shot up another inch.

"I still am growing into my body," Heise admitted. "It's been hard, but it's given me a lot more opportunities. ... Being tall is a great advantage when it comes to basketball."

Until this past summer, Heise had to get his timing and steps down just right to throw down a dunk. But now he can glide through a crowded lane and dunk with ease, as he showcased numerous times this summer in AAU ball.

"I'm getting better at that," he admitted. "I didn't know if I could do that dunking. But I figured it out in the summer."

Heise played on a Rochester-based AAU team this past summer and he felt his game took a big leap. He also felt more confident and comfortable playing with area players from smaller towns rather than players from the Twin Cities.

He has always been an excellent outside shooter. Heise shot 44.7% from 3-point range as a junior. With his growing grace, strength and maturity, he anticipates being a much better inside force during the 2022-23 season.

Berge expects fans to see a different, and improved, player in Heise during his senior season.

"It has to do with him getting stronger and more athletic and kind of growing into his body," Berge said.

Heise comes from a family of talented athletes and he will follow in their footsteps. His two older siblings are both currently Division I college athletes. Taylor, who is five years older, plays women's hockey at the University of Minnesota. Nate, who is three years older, plays men's basketball at the University of Northern Iowa.

Despite the age differences, he battled on the basketball court with both siblings, especially Nate.

"I always remember being outside with them," Heise said. "Out in the yard with my dad, it was always super fun because we always played together."

But Heise said he wasn't motivated to succeed because of his siblings.

"I really just wanted to play basketball at college," he said. "That's four years, and being at school without a sport I thought would be pretty boring so I wanted to take advantage of that time and be on a team. I love being on the Lake City team."

He also plays varsity tennis for Lake City in the spring and enjoys golfing, too.

Heise has gained between 10 and 15 pounds over the past year and now weighs about 175. Now that his growth spurt has slowed, he hopes to add even more muscle to his lean frame. His summer routine included going to work out four times a week in Red Wing, honing on his basketball skills as well as weight training.

Heise appears to have plenty of growth potential in terms of improving his game in the coming years. He is definitely the type of player who could end up being more dominant in college.

"I'm still growing into my body and I'm still trying to grow muscle," Heise said. "I feel like high school is just the building blocks and in college I can really put those ducks in a row."