Some people are exceptionally unique and some people are exceptionally skilled, but the most remarkable people are the ones whose greatness is unique and cannot be reproduced.

Kayleigh Heckel — a five-star Trojan recruit from Long Island Lutheran High School — is that kind of basketball player: set apart, one-of-one. 

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“The word that I could describe her with is just, she’s special,” said Long Island Lutheran High School assistant coach Derek Klein in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “Another word we use is different, [Heckel’s] different. The way she plays is not the norm for girls’ basketball.” 

There has never been anybody like Heckel before and there never will be anyone else like her again. USC fans shouldn’t take for granted the opportunity to witness her career beginning next season; she could be exactly the player the Trojans need to win a national title. 

Lightning Speed

Heckel’s exceptionality is going to be apparent from her first step onto the court because her first step is going to be lightning fast. 

Her Amateur Athletic Union coach, Thomas Davis, has bore witness to Heckel longer than pretty much anyone and even he admits that her speed always impresses him. 

“Zero to 60, her ability to just take off and accelerate is insane,” said Davis in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “One of the best I’ve ever seen.” 

That speed makes any defender guarding her in for a tough night during any given game. 

“She’s quick with and without the ball; I think she’s impossible to guard in the full court,” Klein said. 

Since practically nobody can run with her, Heckel’s speed can exert an influence on her team’s execution of the gameplay in a manner few players can match. 

“She has a knack for controlling the pace of a game,” said LuHi Head Coach Christina Raiti.. 

Heckel is one of the few people at the point guard position who is truly “running point” — she is always running. But also in the sense that her primary goals are always unselfish and teammates-first oriented. 

Heckel’s ability to set up her teammates is the main skill she takes pride in when asked about her game. 

“I’m a speedy point guard who likes to get her teammates involved,” Heckel said. “I’m really good at driving to the basket and finding my teammates in their best positions to score.” 

This unselfish attitude is a notable one for two reasons. For one, Heckel is an elite scorer herself who has the ability to be a number one scoring option, which she was for her first two years at Port Chester High School. 

“She was the hometown hero; she averaged 40 points a game,” Raiti said. “Her family grew up there [and] was very well-known.” 

But when Heckel decided to transfer to Long Island Lutheran High School, she was joining a team where she was perhaps the second or third best player. Syla Swords and Kateryna Koval — who are ranked No. 4 and No. 5, respectively, on the ESPNW 2024 HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings list — were both teammates of hers at LuHi, which was the No. 1-ranked high school team in the country for several weeks this season.

Swords and Koval both went on to be McDonald’s All-Americans along with Heckel, who is ranked No. 13 on the HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings. So much elite talent and only one basketball to go around made Heckel’s eagerness to share the rock huge for LuHi, elevating the play of her entire team. 

“Whatever the team needs her to do to win, [Heckel] is going to do,” Klein said.

Those experiences playing with other greats is going to make sharing the court with star Trojan freshman guard Juju Watkins a natural transition for Heckel. 

“It actually really excites her to play with some of the best players in the country,” Raiti said. “She’s always thinking about how she can get everyone else the best shot.” 

The move to LuHi wasn’t only a huge transition for Heckel on the court, but off the court as well. She had to move away from home to live and play at LuHi, which was tough for Heckel who cares deeply for everyone in her circle — especially the family she had to move away from. 

“It’s a hard move, and she’s very close with family, and not to say that she had it comfortable [in Port Chester], but she was the go-to person,” Raiti said. 

But Heckel made that sacrifice also — as she always does — because she’s not the kind of player who backs away from a challenge. 

“I’ve coached her through some really hard games, through some really adverse moments,” Davis said. “Pushed her and challenged her in ways where a lot of kids would probably quit or give up and she didn’t.” 

Trojan fans can count on Heckel to never give up on her teammates and do the hard work on behalf of her team. 

Trojan fans shouldn’t think for an instant, however, that all of this sacrifice is at a detriment to her skillset. Heckel is one of the most dangerous offensive players in the country who can take over a game in a moment and be the best scorer on the floor on any given night. 

Raiti recalled a game where LuHi played Heckel’s future USC teammate and fellow All-American, Kennedy Smith, when Heckel’s self-confidence really elevated the team. 

“[Smith] had scored the first eight or nine points of the game right off the rip … and [Heckel] just said, ‘Let me guard Kennedy,’” Raiti said. “It was a tough matchup, [Smith] is strong and big, it’s not a natural matchup for us … [Heckel] did a tremendous job defensively and distributing the ball offensively.”

Heckel had a 24-point, 11-assist and 11-rebound triple double in the game and LuHi blew out Etiwanda 82-62. Exceptional for a 5-foot-9 guard who also had the defensive assignment of covering a 6-foot-1 wing, the other team’s best player, on the other side of the ball. 

“It just was one of those things you were like, ‘Alright, this kid has grown so much and is so mature that she can just take over games,’” Raiti said.

Heckel balances selflessness and a killer instinct through an unmatched confidence in herself which the coaching staff at LuHi has continuously instilled in her. 

“We just told [Heckel] she’s the number one point guard in the world,” Klein said. “After each game where she would put on a performance like we know she could, she would always just come back with, ‘Number one in the world, number one in the world.’”

It’s turned into a pre-game ritual of sorts between player and coach. 

“Even before games, we didn’t give high fives, we would just put the number one up,” Klein said. “That was our high five, just putting the ones next to each other.” 

When Heckel helps USC soar to the top of the Associated Press Top 25 Women’s College Basketball Poll, maybe they can make it a teamwide celebration. 

Heart of Gold

A final note on Heckel’s singularity: She has a personality that sets her apart, too. 

“She’ll make corny jokes, she is one of the quirkiest kids you’ll meet,” Raiti said. 

What other people call quirky, Heckel knows who she is.

“A lot of people do say that about me, but I just have my own type of humor and other people find it funny, so it’s just how I am,” Heckel said. 

Heckel’s massive heart has also had an outsized impact on everyone involved in her life. 

“[Heckel is] probably one of the most appreciative kids I’ve ever coached,” Davis said. “[Heckel] appreciates the little things you do for her and nothing goes unnoticed to her.”

Her personality and passion make her a natural fit for the USC program. 

“[The USC] community will fall in love with her just through her smile and how hard she plays,” Klein said. “She just has that way of making you smile off the court which is an awesome trait to have as a young kid.” 

For her part, Heckel said she can’t wait to get to work with a USC team she thinks will have a special connection next season. 

“I’m excited for getting to know my teammates and creating strong bonds that will last hopefully for a lifetime,” Heckel said. 

That’s Heckel: always the heart and the engine driving every basketball team she’s been on. 

And her time here is going to be unforgettable for teammates and fans alike.