Report: Arizona basketball interested in South Dakota State transfer Baylor Scheierman

One of the top players in the men’s college basketball transfer portal is receiving interest from Arizona but is the interest mutual?

South Dakota State transfer Baylor Scheierman told The Stadium’s Jeff Goodman that Arizona is one of several high major programs to reach out to him in the past day.

Scheierman, a 6-foot-6 emerging junior from Aurora, Nebraska, averaged 16.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists for the Jackrabbits last season. The 2021-22 Summit League Player of the Year, Scheierman led SDSU to the NCAA Tournament, where it fell to Providence in the Round of 64.

Scheierman’s most impressive stat last season was his 50.8 shooting percentage, including 46.9 from behind the arc. Scheirman’s shooting was no fluke; in 2020-21, his first full season, he shot 49.8 percent from the field and 43.8 percent from 3-point range.

Transferring is not Scheierman’s only option on the table. He declared for the NBA Draft in March with the option to return to school. Considering he waited a full month to enter the transfer portal after declaring, the writing might be on the wall that Scheierman wouldn’t be a high selection if he were to stay in the draft.

The more relevant question: Is a kid from a town of less than 5,000 people in central Nebraska likely to end up at Arizona? Probably not, according to his own words.

Scheierman told the Omaha World-Herald Tuesday that growing up his favorite team was the reigning national champion Kansas Jayhawks.

“Growing up, having the aspirations I did, that’s what I dreamed of having — having Kentucky and Kansas and Duke and all those High Times schools (recruit me),” he told the paper.

“You look at your phone and it says Bill Self’s calling you — from a small town kid from rural Nebraska, that’s what you dream of. It’s a surreal moment, and I’m grateful for it.”

Arizona has its work cut out trying to lure Scheierman, but it’s worth a shot.