Son of UE Hall of Famer transfers to Purple Aces men's basketball team

EVANSVILLE — Cameron Haffner has lofty aspirations to win conference championships and play in the NCAA Tournament.

It’s why he decided to enter the NCAA transfer portal last week after several conversations with family. He wants to experience the peaks of college basketball.

"That's been a dream of mine since I was little," he told the Courier & Press Wednesday afternoon. "There was lots of talks about that. Also just trying to find the right fit. That's a big thing for me."

Haffner ultimately picked the University of Evansville on Wednesday morning. The Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year is transferring from Eastern Illinois with three years of eligibility.

Transfer portal tracker:Evansville, Southern Indiana men's basketball players gone portaling

Like father, like son.

Of course, his dad Scott Haffner was a Purple Aces great who transferred to UE after one year at Illinois. His No. 3 jersey now hangs from the rafters inside Ford Center.

He famously scored 65 points against Dayton in 1989 — the seventh-highest individual total ever in a Division I game — and was the top scorer on a team that secured the program's only NCAA tournament victory. No. 11-seeded UE upset Oregon State in the first round in '89.

Scott ranks sixth in UE history with 1,686 career points. He later was taken in the second round of the 1989 NBA Draft by the Miami Heat and played in the league for two years between the Heat and the Charlotte Hornets.

"I guess he was a pretty big deal with all that he did there," said Cameron, who went to UE camps growing up and has family in the area. "I'm really familiar with the area. Growing up, I dreamed of following in my dad's footsteps and doing some of the things that he did. I never knew it would bring me back to Evansville, but seeing what he did there and things that other guys like his teammates and people after him and before him accomplished, the family connection I think is something cool."

UE coach David Ragland frequently has stated over the past year his intentions to bridge the gap between the program's successful past and the present. This is another move toward that goal.

"We did have some talks about it, but just wants me to be my own player," Cameron said. "He's really excited about it obviously because he played there and he loved it there. He loved his time there. He loves what Coach Ragland and his staff are trying to do there."

Cameron is coming off an impressive freshman season with the Panthers, who are coached by former UE player and coach Marty Simmons. He was named Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year after averaging 7.5 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists on 40% shooting overall and 42% from the 3-point line. He earned his way into EIU's starting five for the final 10 games, during which he averaged 11.1 points and scored double figures in seven of those contests.

He ranked third in the OVC in 3-point percentage and was named freshman of the week five times.

Cameron had a list of suitors once he was officially portaling. UE, Southern Illinois- Edwardsville, Longwood, Boston University, Valparaiso, Western Michigan and Chattanooga were among those that reached out.

He attended Westfield High School near Indianapolis and averaged 16.5 points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal during his senior year while making a school-record 85 3-pointers. He was an Indiana Large School All-State selection who scored over 1,000 career points, but his only D-I scholarship offer as a high schooler was from Eastern Illinois.

"I love Marty and their staff there," Cameron said. "It was a really difficult decision for me to have that conversation with him because, given the history and everything we've been through. I just let him know where I was at in the process and what I was thinking but also at the same time, I thanked him for everything he's done for me because they gave me the opportunity to play at the Division I level which has been a dream of mine forever. I'll forever be thankful to him for that."

Cameron visited UE over the past few days and had "an amazing experience." He spoke with Ragland on the phone and they met on campus to discuss his role and fit in the style of play.

He loves the staff's philosophy and the idea of the rebuilding process and the idea of being part of the team that eventually brings the Aces back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1999.

"It's a basketball community," Cameron said. "I love what they're trying to do. It would just mean so much given the history, obviously, and everything that has happened in that program. To be able to be part of the rebuild and eventually getting to that, back to where they were, and then building on that even more in the future, I just think that's something huge."

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Cameron Haffner transfers to Evansville men's basketball