Aleli Elizondo
ASU Student Journalist

Camelback's Helean balances hoops and acting

February 18, 2018 by Aleli Elizondo, Arizona State University


If you don’t find Jacob Helean on the basketball court shooting hoops ,you can find him in the Camelback High School theater room rehearsing and acting.

Standing at 6-foot-8, Helean is hard to miss, he is well known at school and has a lot of friends and is always finding ways to help others.

“I like being that kid that anyone can go to if they need help,” Helean said.

Helean discover his love for basketball in the eighth grade, when he was watching some YouTube videos, and wondered if he could do some of those moves.

“I wondered if I could do half of that stuff since I am pretty tall,” Helean said.

That’s when Helean knew he wanted to start playing more and become a basketball player.

“I decided to dunk one time and actually was able to,” Helean said.

Camelback coach Marlon Rhymes explained how Helean has always been a team player and how far he has come despite a late start as an athlete, since Rhymes has only been his coach for two years.

“With maturity and hard work he saw that he could accomplish his dreams and play at the next level,” Rhymes said.

Rhymes described Jacob as someone who is persistent and someone who is willing to trust the process when given directions.

“Some kids don’t know how good they are until they built confidence, and when they built confidence in themselves and their ability they built confidence in your coaching,” Rhymes said.

When the athlete has that confidence with in themselves and understand the dynamic of the game they start knowing what works for them and they begin to work harder.

“Once they have that confidence in your coaching , the world gets brighter and they start seeing that it really works,” Rhymes explained.

Helean has always proven how he is a team player with his team, and in some situations he even showed leadership.

Camelback athletic director Steven Kuipers described Helean as a very good and smart kid and how he always wants the best for the basketball team.

“He is selfless, no big ego on the court, he wants to make sure everyone gets their opportunities, he knows his role and plays within his role. He does not need to be the highlight reel,” Kuipers said.

With all his hard work and dedication Helean will be playing basketball next fall at Scottsdale Community College. He wants to continue taking theater classes since he loves acting.

“I would want to continue theater if they allow it,” Helean said.

One quote that Helean lives by is from Muhammad Ali, that says “I hated every minute of training, but suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.”

One piece of advice that Rhymes wants Helean to take with him is to continue to work and to work harder than in high school.

“At the next level it is more intense, work extra hard to make it to the next division,” Rhymes said.