HELENA — When Cam Niles rang the bell at a Northern California hospital in March, it meant the Carroll College junior basketball player was cancer free.
Fast forward four months and Niles was back on campus, handing out t-shirts at the annual Hoops For a Cause fundraiser.
Sunday marked year nine of the Frontier Conference’s Hoops For a Cause benefit tournament. Proceeds from this year’s event will go toward helping Niles with his medical bills.
“It’s just a blessing,” said Niles, who overcame Stage 4 lymphoma. “The main thing I took from this is gratefulness. Your life can be here and there in an instant.And I’m just super glad that I was able to bear through. God gave me this ability. God gave me this journey, this testimony. He trusted me with it, and I’m super blessed and thankful for it.”
Nine years ago, MSU-Northern head women’s basketball coach Chris Mouat helped found Hoops For a Cause alongside a couple other Frontier Conference coaches. And even though Mouat coaches for the Skylights, he said there are no rivalries or allegiances when it comes to Hoops For a Cause.
“It was a no-brainer,” said Mouat. “Somebody from our league, somebody was sick, needed our help. There’s three of us that kind of decide every year, and he was the only one we talked about — well, we talked about a couple, I shouldn’t say that. But being that he’s from the Frontier family — it was an easy choice.”
And although Niles wasn’t able to be on the court — or even on campus — for any part of last season, he said he still felt the support of the Carroll community during his cancer battle.
“You know, I was only here for probably a month total,” said Niles. “I wasn’t really even able to build relationships, connections.
“People barely saw my face on campus, yet they hear a kid that gets cancer and they’re all supportive. It really just shows the genuineness of the community and the town. Because here they are supporting me, and they don’t even know me.”
