Inside Baylor Scheierman’s Rise From Mid-Major Star To Celtics Draft Pick

South Dakota State head coach Eric Henderson thought he was going to lose out on a prized college basketball recruit in Baylor Scheierman.

Scheierman had the size, ability and right makeup coaches coveted. Even football coaches.

When Scheierman didn’t star on the hardwood in high school, he dominated on the gridiron. He set Nebraska state records as a senior in the fall of 2018 by throwing for 3,924 yards and 59 touchdowns in a single season. That drew interest from college football programs, including from the school not far away from Scheierman’s hometown in the University of Nebraska.

Henderson caught wind that then-head coach Scott Frost invited Scheierman to campus to attend a Cornhuskers game, which sent Henderson immediately into panic mode.

“I was an assistant coach at the time and I’m like, ‘Oh God this isn’t good. A Nebraska kid,'” Henderson told NESN.com. “He probably could have played Division I football.”

Henderson got on the phone with Scheierman, who calmed Henderson’s nerves and made it clear that despite a trip to watch the Cornhuskers play, he would honor his commitment to South Dakota State.

“So, I called him and he said, ‘Hey, Hendo, man, I’m a hooper,'” Henderson said.

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Scheierman showed that over the next three seasons with the Jackrabbits, developing a skill set that ultimately led him to Creighton before becoming the No. 30 overall selection of the Boston Celtics in the 2024 NBA Draft.

The 6-foot-6, 205-pound guard turned out to be what Henderson envisioned: a complete game-changer on the court. Scheierman could do it all as evidenced when he was named the Summit League Player of the Year for the 2021-2022 campaign. That season, he finished third in the league in scoring with 18.2 points per game while being the only Division I player to lead his conference in both rebounding (8.2) and assists (4.6).

Talent alone didn’t get Scheierman there. Henderson saw him work meticulously at his craft and with the facility seemingly always open at South Dakota State, Scheierman became a gym rat.

“I couldn’t beat him to the gym and he was always the last one to leave,” Henderson said.

But it wasn’t always smooth sailing for Scheierman. While he got the reputation as a lights-out shooter — he shot 39% from 3-point range in his college career — it didn’t start that way with the Jackrabbits. He shot just 24.7% from beyond the arc during his freshman season.

That left Scheierman wanting more. Henderson said Scheierman took the conversations they had “to heart” and got to work improving. It showed the very next season and opened Henderson’s eyes as he catapulted to a 43.8% shooter from downtown and averaged 15.4 points per game.

“I could see the jump that he made from his freshman year to his sophomore year,” Henderson said. “It was like a different player. His ability to make shots. He added a great amount of strength. Became more athletic. … That’s probably the time I was like, ‘Holy cow, this dude can be special.'”

After Scheierman completed his third season with the Jackrabbits, in which he shot a blistering 47.2% from deep, he declared for the NBA draft in 2022 while maintaining his college eligibility.

That’s how he got on the radar of the Celtics. Scheierman worked out for the Celtics ahead of that year’s draft and it helped that Khyle Marshall, who was an assistant coach for the Jackrabbits, had played for Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens when he coached at Butler.

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Scheierman ultimately decided to forgo the NBA draft and entered the transfer portal. He had plenty of suitors, including from a college basketball blue blood in Duke. But Greg McDermott and Creighton won out.

Scheierman then had to try to fit in with a Bluejays squad that returned four starters in Ryan Kalkbrenner, Trey Alexander, Ryan Nembhard and Arthur Kaluma. He made it look easy, though, using his “underrated” skill to do so.

“I think it’s because he was such a willing passer. He would turn down a good shot to get his teammate a great shot and he’d do that over and over again,” McDermott told NESN.com. “Once the rest of the guys played with him, they understood that not only is he going to make our team better, he’s going to help make me better because he’s going to get me some opportunities with his incredible vision.”

Just like at South Dakota State, Scheierman made the same type of all-around impact with Creighton. While doing that, he rewrote Creighton’s record book.

He became the first player in Creighton history to ever record a points/rebounds/assists triple-double and he collected at least 300 rebounds in consecutive seasons, which hadn’t been done at Creighton in over four decades. The cherry on top of his sterling statistics was becoming the first men’s player in Division I history with at least 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 500 assists and 300 three-pointers in his career.

“He’s confident,” McDermott said. “I think when you come from a small town, and you’re trying to make it in the big-time like you have to have a chip on his shoulder and play with an edge, and Baylor certainly does that. But he’s also backed it up with a lot of hard work.”

It wasn’t just Scheierman’s work ethic or shooting ability that shone through. His competitive nature was at the forefront of his ascension as well. But Scheierman’s competitiveness could go into overdrive, which led to him butting heads with McDermott at times during timeouts when the coach would tell him something he didn’t want to hear.

“Him and I have an unbelievable relationship. I’m really close to him. But we would get after each other sometimes because of his competitiveness,” McDermott said. “We’re both really competitive and sometimes in the heat of the moment, those tempers flare. But in a matter of minutes, we’re putting our arms around each other and everything was fine. Like I said, he’s a winner and he’s prepared himself to win. He holds other to a high standard and because he’s worked so hard he feels like he’s going to be successful.”

While shots might not fall all the time for Scheierman, his confidence is never lacking. It’s an asset of his just like his tremendous outside shooting.

The Celtics already saw it, too. After totaling 13 points, six assists and five rebounds in his Celtics debut in Summer League action last week, Scheierman hit a cold spell the last two games, shooting 4-for-17 from the field.

But Scheierman keeps shooting, believing the next one is going to go in and trusting himself that what brought him from Aurora, Neb., to the Celtics will continue to work.

“A lot of the feedback I got during the draft process is he came into these workouts he was confident, somewhat cocky at times, but he certainly backed it up with his performance,” McDermott said. “But that’s who he is. He’s worked really hard to prepare himself for the situation that’s at hand now, which is why I think he’s going to thrive.”