Transfers of power

Creighton’s Scheierman tops list of players who could make big impact out of portal

2022-11-06 - By Steve Megargee

Creighton has its best preseason ranking ever thanks in part to the big victory it earned in the transfer portal. Baylor Scheierman’s decision to return to his home state and play for Creighton after three stellar seasons at South Dakota State gives Creighton one of the nation’s more versatile players. The 2021

22 Summit League player of the year was the only Division I player last season to lead his conference in both rebounds and assists. Scheierman is one of the more notable players switching teams this season.

Creighton has its best preseason ranking ever thanks in part to the big victory it earned in the transfer portal.

Baylor Scheierman’s decision to return to his home state and play for Creighton after three stellar seasons at South Dakota State gave Creighton one of the nation’s more versatile players.

Scheierman, a first-team all-Summit League selection each of the last two years, was the only Division I player last season to lead his conference in both rebounds (7.8) and assists (4.5). He was a finalist for the Lou Henson Award given annually to the nation’s top mid-major player.

South Dakota State went 68-22 in Scheierman’s three seasons, including a 30-5 mark last season that included an NCAA Tournament appearance.

Now he’s taking his game to the Big East. “It was definitely a tough decision,” Scheierman told reporters. “Obviously, being there for three years and winning as much as we did, the relationships were pretty strong. This was a move for me individually, hoping to reach my dreams of playing in the NBA.”

Scheierman, who is from Aurora, Nebraska, showed his ability to deal with Big East competition in his final game at South Dakota State. The 6-foot-7 guard collected 18 points and 10 rebounds in an NCAA Tournament loss to Providence.

His addition has helped Creighton earn a No. 9 ranking in the preseason AP Top

25. The Bluejays also return three players who averaged at least 10 points last season in Ryan Kalkbrenner, Arthur Kaluma and Ryan Nembhard.

“He can score the basketball, but he’s an elite, elite passer,” Creighton coach Greg McDermott said. “Adding that to what we already had returning is quite a skill to add to this group.”

Scheierman is one of the more notable players switching teams this season (former schools are included in parentheses):

Miami G Nijel Pack (Kansas State)

This 6-footer earned first-team all-Big

12 honors last season and was named the conference’s most improved player. He averaged 17.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists and

1.3 steals. He also made 95 3-pointers and shot 43.6% from beyond the arc. Pack was one of seven Division I players to score at least 17 points per game while shooting at least 43% from 3-point range.

Gonzaga G Malachi Smith (Chattanooga)

Smith was the Southern Conference player of the year and won the Lou Henson Award as the nation’s top mid-major performer last season. He had 19.9 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3 assists and 1.7 steals per game while helping Chattanooga reach the NCAA Tournament.

LSU F KJ Williams (Murray State)

This 6-10 forward followed coach Matt McMahon from Murray State to LSU after leading the Ohio Valley Conference in scoring (18.0 ppg) and ranked second in the league in rebounding (8.4) last season. He had 18 points and seven rebounds as Murray State defeated San Francisco in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.