Creighton desperately needed a dose of good news after an offseason that has seen five players enter the transfer portal — headlined by the shocking departure of Ryan Nembhard last week. They got that news on Thursday when Baylor Scheierman announced on social media that he would use his extra COVID year of eligibility to return to the Jays.
“Ever since I was a kid, I dreamed of playing basketball at the highest level,” Scheierman narrates in the video clip. “This year, coming back home to play for Creighton, and making history is something that I will remember forever. I just want to thank my family, coaches, teammates and fans for all you guys’ support along the way. With that being said, I’ll be returning to Creighton for my final year of eligibility. Roll Jays.”
Teammate Francisco Farabello, who announced himself earlier in the week that he too was returning, was excited.
So was Greg McDermott.
From an offseason momentum standpoint, Scheierman opting to return is massive. Decisions are still looming for Ryan Kalkbrenner, Trey Alexander and Arthur Kaluma, though today at 11:59pm Eastern is the deadline to apply to the Undergraduate Advisory Committee for feedback from scouts as to their likely draft position. Players can use that to base their decision on whether to enter the NBA Draft, with the deadline for entry next Sunday (April 23) — though they have until May 31 to withdraw from the draft and return to school. It would make sense for the Jays’ other three returning starters to request an evaluation, but it could be another six weeks before we know for sure whether or not they’ll be back. There will be no waiting on Scheierman, and Jays fans hope his early decision means he has a good feeling that most or all of the others will be back, too.
But Scheierman’s return is huge on the court, too. He hit some clutch baskets, like his pair of four-point plays in the Big East Quarterfinal win over Villanova. The first came the conventional way, by hitting a three, drawing a foul, and making the free throw. The second was classic Scheierman. After Kaluma sank a free throw, he battled for an offensive rebound off the missed second attempt, kicked it out to Ryan Nembhard, and he knocked down a three.
His NCAA Tournament was one of CU’s finest, and included this three to seal the first round NCAA Tournament win over NC State:
And this one late in the second half as Princeton was desperately trying to make a comeback, part of a 21-point performance that helped the Jays to the Elite Eight.
“This is fun,” Scheierman said after that win. “Obviously, tonight it was my night. Like I’ve been talking about the whole tourney, you know, a different player steps up on any given night, and that’s what makes us so difficult to guard. We’re just playing with a lot of joy.”
Greg McDermott heaped praise on him that night, making sure to point out to the national media in attendance that Scheierman’s shooting is actually just part of the total package, as Jays fans know well.
“He is a basketball player that happens to be a good shooter,” McDermott said. “He hasn’t shot it to the level that he would like to this year on a consistent basis, but he and I have been talking all year that it only takes one game. At some point in the season when we need you, all your hard work is going to pay off.”
It did. And as McDermott alluded to, there’s so much more to Scheierman’s game than just making shots.
He averaged 8.3 rebounds per game, grabbing 306 for the season; that total ranks 11th most in CU history and is the most since Benoit Benjamin’s 451 in 1984-85.
- 631 – Paul Silas, 1963-64
- 563 – Paul Silas, 1961-62
- 557 – Paul Silas, 1962-63
- 451 – Benoit Benjamin, 1984-85
- 385 – Bob Portman, 1967-68
- 362 – Dick Hartman, 1959-60
- 332 – Gregory Brandon, 1983-84
- 330 – George Morrow, 1980-81
- 317 – Elton McGriff, 1964-65
- 308 – Bob Portman, 1968-69
- 306 – Baylor Scheierman, 2022-23
Scheierman had 13 double-doubles in 37 games, with five additional games where he fell one rebound shy of a double-double. The 13 that he did get are tied for the most by any Bluejay in a single season since the great Bob Harstad in 1987-88. And one of the five “near misses” was his giant 12 point, 12 rebound, nine assist game in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament — had he recorded one more assist, he would have been the first Bluejay ever to record a point/rebound/assist triple-double.
Given his career numbers, some were disappointed that he shot “only” 36.4% last year at CU, making 87-of-239. That percentage is a bit misleading; he was 78-of-169 his junior year at South Dakota State (46.2%), or nine fewer makes on 70 fewer shots. As a sophomore, he was 55-of-125 (44.0%). He was a much higher volume shooter at CU, and his efficiency dropped.
The interesting thing is that even with his shot attempts increasing so dramatically, his shooting percentage — and many fans’ perception of him — was dragged down by a long slump in February.
- First 24 games: 62-of-157, 39.5%
- Next 7 games: 12-of-45, 26%
- Postseason (6 games): 13-of-37, 35.1%
Even with that slump, his 87 made threes are the 10th most in program history — a list that reads like a who’s-who of Bluejay sharpshooters.
- 129 – Kyle Korver, 2002-03
- 110 – Ethan Wragge, 2013-14
- 100 – Kyle Korver, 2000-01
- 97 – Ty-Shon Alexander, 2018-19
- 96 – Doug McDermott, 2013-14
- 95 – Marcus Foster, 2017-18
- 95 – Mitch Ballock, 2018-19
- 93 – Mitch Ballock, 2019-20
- 91 – Booker Woodfox, 2008-09
- 87 – Baylor Scheierman, 2022-23
He’s made at least one three-pointer in all 37 games he’s played in a Bluejay uniform, blowing past Ty-Shon Alexander’s previous program record of 33 straight games. Absurd. And because he had one of the Jays’ two made three-pointers in the Elite Eight loss to San Diego State, he’ll have the opportunity to add to that record next season. (Although, if you count his time at South Dakota State, he’s already made a three in 47 straight games which is even more absurd.)
- 37 – Baylor Scheierman, Nov. 7, 2022 – ??
- 33 – Ty-Shon Alexander, Feb. 27, 2018 – March 6, 2019
- 31 – Booker Woodfox, Nov. 25, 2008 – March 23, 2009
- 28 – Kyle Korver, Feb. 4, 2001 – Feb. 6, 2002
- 27 – Kyle Korver, Feb. 13, 2002 – Jan. 20, 2003
- 25 – Rodney Buford, Jan. 25, 1997 – Jan. 10, 1998
- 23 – Ethan Wragge, Nov. 8, 2013 – Feb. 9, 2014
- 23 – Mitch Ballock, Nov. 12, 2019 – Feb. 8, 2020
- 23 – Marcus Zegarowski, Dec. 17, 2020 – March 28, 2021
- 22 – Khyri Thomas, Jan. 28 – Dec. 5, 2017
- 21 – Ethan Wragge, Jan. 3 – March 24, 2010
- 20 – Johnny Mathies, Dec. 22, 2004 – Feb. 28, 2005
- 20 – Marcus Foster, Dec. 31, 2017 – March 16, 2018
And per Rob Anderson’s research, Scheierman enters his final year of college with 1,586 points, 941 rebounds, 442 assists, 246 three-pointers and 121 steals. No other player in the nation in the last 30 seasons has attained those totals in all of those categories.
Now he’s returning to the Hilltop for one more season, and if Kalkbrenner, Alexander and Kaluma follow suit, the Jays will be poised to back another deep run in March.