Eric Van Der Heijden commits and for the second time in the 2021 recruiting class, Louisville goes into North Carolina to land a recruit.
On Friday, Van Der Heijden, a 4-star forward from Raleigh (NC) Millbrook, committed to the Cardinals. Assistant coach Dino Gaudio led Louisville’s recruitment of Van Der Heijden, ranked as the No. 72 overall prospect in the 2021 class.
Van Der Heijden becomes the fourth member of Louisville’s 2021 class; he joins 4-star small forward Bryce Hopkins, a Chicago product, 4-star point guard Bobby Pettiford Jr. out of Creedmoor, NC, and El Ellis, the top 2021 JUCO prospect in the country. Gaudio, who has plenty of ties to the state of North Carolina, including a decade at Wake Forest, was the lead recruiter for Pettiford, too.
(Ellis plays JUCO ball in Florida, but he’s from North Carolina, too: Durham.)
Additionally, 3-star 2020 Gabe Wiznitzer, who committed last month, plans to redshirt the 2020-21 season for Louisville.
I really like the Van Der Heijden add for Louisville. Those 3/4 hybrids are important in college.
— Ross Homan (@Ross_homan1) July 31, 2020
During his junior season at Millbrook, Van Der Heijden posted a ubiquitous stat line with averages of 12.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists. 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks per game.
Before committing to Louisville, the 6-foot-9, 205-pound Van Der Heijden fielded offers from Texas, Marquette, Clemson, Boston College, Wake Forest, Cincinnati and Maryland, among others.