‘We love Baylor!’

Spirits were high walking out of the CHI Health Center late Saturday afternoon. 
Former Husky Baylor Scheierman helped carry the Bluejays to a tough 73-67 home win over a stingy, ranked Providence team and did so with the typical flair and passion No. 55 displays, many in his hometown are quick to recognize. 
As I approached the News-Register-marked vehicle and began to load up my equipment, my heart sank to my stomach. 
A blue, business-card sized note was stuck in the driver’s side window. Tell me this, how the heck do I get a parking ticket in a reserved lot I had credentials to be in the first place?
My emotion quickly flipped from anger to laughter upon seeing the inscription on the note.
“We love Baylor!”
Incredible. The Baylor Scheierman fan club found me. The headband is taking over the city of Omaha and, quite frankly, college basketball. 
And what’s not to like? Scheierman is the hometown kid -- the kid who picked the Jays over nearly every other school in the country. 
Why? Because Scheierman wanted to prove himself on college basketball’s biggest stages. He’s certainly been doing that over the past two-plus months. 
“It’s been a lot of fun. This is why I made the move and I want to help Creighton win as much as I can,” Scheierman said. “It’s been a ton of fun and the road atmospheres have been great. It’s been everything I thought it would be.”
It’s been one heck of a roller-coaster ride, however.
Creighton won its first six games, then lost its next six. The Jays are now 10-8 and hopeful to ride the momentum after a big win over a ranked opponent at home. 
Scheierman has been show-stopping along the ride. Twenty-five points last week at Xavier. Nineteen more at home versus Providence. Double-doubles all around. 
Yet, not quite the amount of success in the win-loss column many of the experts and even the team would have expected. In the end, that’s all Scheierman is looking for -- wins. 
“I feel like I’ve been playing well, but it’s a tough thing when you’re not winning games,” he said. “Ultimately, that’s really all I care about. The individual part gets thrown out but I feel like I’ve been consistent throughout the year.”
Scheierman told the media ahead of the Providence game Saturday that every possession matters and each game from this point forward means a lot. 
He backed up those words Saturday. 
Scheierman went wild in the first half, scoring 13 points in the first 12 minutes. He finished the first half with 17 points on 7 of 11 shooting with three threes. 
And the Bluejay faithful responded every time the former Husky begged them to get on their feet. 
It’s in the intro video. During pregame warmups. After making big shots. Many times, it’s down to a small, one-arm gesture. 
When Scheierman waves one arm above his head, pleading with the fan base to get on its feet, they listen -- and get loud. 
“It’s been a lot of fun. The CHI Center is a great arena and there’s a lot of support,” Scheierman said. “It all makes for a great experience.”
It wasn’t all roses and rainbows, though. 
Scheierman quickly picked up fouls three and a fourth early in the second half and was yanked by Creighton coach Greg McDermott. 
The Bluejay lead was erased, going from up 16 to a tie game with 8:30 left. At that point, McDermott had to go back to his starters, including Scheierman. 
“We went back with Baylor with four fouls sooner than we would’ve liked to,” McDermott said. “That’s a risky proposition if he fouls out with eight minutes left. At that point we didn’t really have a choice.”
Playing with four fouls in a tight game can be a detriment for many. Scheierman wasn’t too worried about it, though. 
“I really didn’t think too much of it, I just played how I play,” Scheierman said. “It was definitely a different situation for me because that’s the first time I fouled out of a game in a long time.”
Just how long had it been since Scheierman had fouled out of a game? I was curious, too, so I hit the books. 
Including Saturday, he’s only fouled out of three games in his college basketball career. He hadn’t fouled out of a game since his freshman season at South Dakota State in 2020. 
Almost three years ago. How about that?
During his freshman season at SDSU, Scheierman fouled out of back-to-back games to end the regular season, Feb. 23 and Feb. 27 of 2020. He didn’t foul out of another game until Saturday’s win for Creighton. 
If hard-to-believe Scheierman stats are what you’re looking for, then buckle up. 
Scheierman has made multiple three-pointers in 24 of his last 25 games and has made at least one in his last 28 games. I’m not sure I could make one in 28 tries, let alone from where Scheierman shoots them from the half-court logo. 
Not only that, but Scheierman is the nation’s only player in the last 30 years with career totals of at least 200 three-pointers, 350 assists and 710 defensive rebounds. 
You read that right. I’m 30 years-old, by the way. Crazy. 
Scheierman has made 205 three-pointers following the Providence game, right around 41 percent for his college career. 
Currently, Scheierman is on pace to be the first Creighton player in school history to average at least eight rebounds and two three-pointers per game. 
He’s also closing in on Creighton’s school record of double-doubles. So far, Scheierman has eight on the season, which has him ranked 10th nationally. Former Creighton great Doug McDermott has the school record with 11 back in 2011-12. 
The NBA will love that, right?
Obviously, Scheierman shoots the three better than most, but what may impress the scouts at the next level is his backdown fadeaway. 
Scheierman has used it a lot more recently where he will back down his defender deep into the paint, then wait, wait and quickly flip around for a fadeaway jumper. 
“That’s always been in my game the last two or three years,” Scheierman said. “I’ve just been getting to it a lot more, especially recently.
“It’s a hard shot to defend, especially because of my size. It’s there a lot of the time and it’s a high-efficient shot for me.”

Fun times in Hawaii 
I just had to ask, with an impending snow storm coming in, about Scheierman’s time in Hawaii earlier this season. 
Creighton played in the annual Maui Jim Maui Invitational, defeating ranked opponents Texas Tech and Arkansas before losing to Arizona in the finals. 
“The Hawaii trip was great,” Scheierman said. “The environment was great. I really enjoyed the week we had out there.”
The four-hour time difference, for a guy who is so set to a schedule, was tough. According to Scheierman, coming back was much worse than going out, not including the weather conditions. 
“Coming back was tough, trying to get re-adjusted,” Scheierman said. “It’s hard when there’s that much of a time difference. We were out there for a week; by the second day we were used to it. It was harder to adjust coming home than it was going out there.”
Scheierman continued to make headlines, hanging out with ESPN analyst Jay Bilas in a one-on-one laid-back interview on the beach. 
It was something that still made him smile and laugh months later, because of how cool every opportunity along the way has been for a guy from small-town Aurora. 
“That was a lot of fun,” Scheierman said of his time with Bilas. “I’ve seen him do that with other guys through the years and to actually be on it was a crazy experience. I’m very grateful for that.”
Omaha may love Baylor. But, so does his hometown. 
RICHARD RHODEN can be reached at sports@hamilton.net.