Aurora native Baylor Scheierman pursued his professional dreams last summer, declaring for the NBA Draft after three standout seasons at South Dakota State. To keep his options open, he also entered his name in the transfer portal.
After going through the process and gathering feedback, Scheierman decided to return to college in order to transfer up to a higher level and continue proving himself to NBA evaluators. He chose to return to his home state and play at Creighton.
The 6-foot-7 wing helped lead the Bluejays to their first Elite Eight — one foul call away from the Final Four. At the end of the season, Scheierman faced a decision: move on to the professional ranks or return to school to take advantage of his extra season of eligibility from the COVID-19 pandemic. This time, he didn’t need feedback from the pros to make the call.
Scheierman skipped out on testing the NBA waters again and announced April 13 that he was returning, while his teammates — Ryan Kalkbrenner, Trey Alexander and Arthur Kaluma — entered their names in the draft pool to follow the path he took the year prior.
“I think that was a big part of it, not choosing to go through the draft and kind of just being able to stay home and really just work on my game every single day,” Scheierman said. “I chose to stay in Omaha over that month of May that we get off instead of going back home and I really just dedicated that month to being in the gym and being in the weight room with Jeremy [Anderson] trying to improve my body and then improve on the court in different areas where I thought I could get better at, and I think it’s really helped me coming into this second year here at Creighton.”
Scheierman was the player of the year in the Summit League his junior year at South Dakota State, averaging 16.2 points and 4.5 assists while operating as the team’s point guard. The move to Creighton — who already had a starting point guard in Ryan Nembhard and another dynamic combo-guard in Trey Alexander — required a change in roles, one that would ultimately be more in line with what Scheierman might play at the next level.
The adjustment to playing more off the ball and against tougher, more athletic competition was a work in progress last year, especially early in the season. He seemed to defer a bit to the other playmakers, operating primarily as a floor-spacer early on. In the first 10 games, he averaged 12.0 points and 2.4 assists while shooting 40% from the field including 47.2% inside the arc on 3.4 attempts per game and 36.6% from 3 on 7.1 attempts per game. He also only attempted just eight free throws, hitting five.
With the team struggling during Ryan Kalkbrenner’s absence, however, Scheierman’s aggression and confidence inside the arc seemed to take a leap in mid-December, starting with the Arizona State game that saw him score 18 points on 3-of-5 from 2, 3-of-5 from 3 and 3-of-5 from the line. The rest of the way, he averaged 13.0 points and 3.6 assists while shooting 43.3% from the field including 54.2% from 2 on 4.0 attempts per game and 36.3% from 3 on 6.2 attempts per game. He also attempted 2.5 free throws per game, hitting them at an 86.6% clip.
One thing that didn’t waver throughout the season was his defensive rebounding; he finished second in the league in defensive rebounding percentage and first in total defensive rebounds, hauling in 7.3 per game and 8.3 rebounds per game overall.
“I was very confident coming into last year that I could impact the game in a positive way,” Scheierman said. “Obviously it was an adjustment period for me because the role I had at South Dakota State was very different than what I had here and the shots I got here were completely different than what I was used to the past three years with South Dakota State.
“I think that was probably the biggest difference for me and I think that’s what I’m excited about this year is kind of just being more comfortable in my role and being able to play free-minded knowing what the coaches expect and knowing that my teammates have my back and support what I do. Kind of being able to have, not exactly the same role I had at South Dakota State, but kind of getting back to a little bit more of what I did there.”
Scheierman put together a pretty impressive highlight reel of assists during his time in Brookings, South Dakota, but he was known primarily for his 3-point shooting prowess. He shot 41.4% on nearly 400 3-point attempts during his three years as a Jackrabbit, including a blistering 46.9% as a junior. His advanced shooting numbers all painted him as one of the premier shooters in the country.
In his first season as a Bluejay, that 3-point percentage dipped over 10 points to 36.4% — still respectable, but not what you’d expect from a shooter of Scheierman’s caliber. However, much of that had to do with a late season slump as he shot just 32% over his last 15 games, topping the 33.3% mark just three times during the stretch. Until that point, he had connected from deep at a 39.4% clip.
With a better understanding of where and when his shots will come and improved fitness to endure the grind of a long season in the Big East, Scheierman expects to follow in the foot steps of many of the other elite shooters who have come through the program and taking a significant leap in 3-point percentage in year two in the program.
“That’s exactly how I feel,” Scheierman said, “just very confident with the preparation and the work I’ve put in coming into this year and then kind of just being free-minded and knowing that at the end of the day, regardless if I shoot it well or I don’t shoot it well, I know I put in the work and so I just have to trust that.”
Scheierman’s best offensive skills are his shooting and passing, but as he showed in the second half of the season he can be a threat inside the arc as well, something Creighton will need from him more after the departures of Kaluma and Nembhard.
“I think it will be more of a role for me this year than it was last year,” Scheierman said. “I think with the pieces we have offensively, it’s going to be a lot of fun just because of our ability to space the floor, and with that it opens up driving lanes. People have to really respect our on through four being able to shoot the ball which opens up the spacing and creates a lot of opportunities.”
Scheierman is a preseason second-team All-Big East selection this year after earning a postseason honorable mention nod last year. With him alongside Utah State transfer Steven Ashworth and Alexander in the backcourt, Creighton is essentially starting three point guards who are all capable of shooting 40% from 3 off the ball and creating for themselves and others on it. Coach Greg McDermott said the fit has been seamless for Ashworth joining Alexander and Scheierman.
“It’s been amazing,” McDermott said. “It’s really kind of happened organically from the jump, from the day Steven walked in the door. Baylor and Trey, I thought, had great chemistry last year with the group that they were playing with, and Steven’s really added to that with his ability to play off the ball and be unselfish. He really has very little of an agenda for himself.
“So those three have worked really, really well together and it seems like it’s a different guy every day. One of those guys gets nine or 10 assists in practice and the other two guys make a bunch of shots, and then the roles reverse the next day. So it’s been fun to see it develop. Hopefully it continues to grow.”
Kalkbrenner is the backbone of this Creighton team, but great guard play can carry a team in March and a leap for Scheierman in his second year with the program could give Creighton one of the best perimeter trios in the country.
