BOSTON — When Baylor Scheierman was in 7th grade, he woke up at 5 a.m. every morning to sneak in a workout with a pair of high schoolers from his hometown of Aurora, Nebraska.
The trio of young athletes called themselves “The Morning Hawks.” They’d get in a workout before school, because they played sports after school — baseball, golf, football, the like. Scheierman was the only middle-schooler in the pack, but he was nonetheless embraced.
“I think they just saw the passion I had for the game, and just the willingness to do whatever it took to get better,” Scheierman told CelticsBlog. “They kind of just gravitated to that. And so, that’s how I earned the invite.”
Baylor’s mom, Shannon, taught a spin class at 5:30 in the morning. So, she’d drop off her 13-year-old son at the high school, and pick him up on her way home from class. He’d quickly shower and head to class.
The Scheiermans are a family of athletes. Shannon played college volleyball. Baylor’s father, Scott, played college basketball. Baylor’s sister played volleyball in school, his uncles played college baseball, and the list goes on.
But, it was then that Shannon began to realize her son was different.
“Already, he was putting in the extra time for basketball,” she said. “You just don’t do that. The normal kid doesn’t do that in seventh grade — get up at 5:30 in the morning to go work out.”
Then, in 8th grade, Baylor’s social studies teacher had the students write letters to their future selves, stating their aspirations.
Baylor’s goal was six words: I want to play in the NBA.
A COVID summer and Pistol Pete changed it all for Baylor Scheierman
Baylor was a multi-sport star in high school. He committed to play basketball at South Dakota State midway through his junior year, and followed that commitment up with a record-breaking football season that culminated in a state title. Suddenly, schools were interested in him playing college football, too.
“But, in his heart of hearts, basketball was always the thing that he wanted to play,” Shannon said.
In between his freshman and sophomore seasons at South Dakota State, COVID shut down the nation, which resulted in one of the most important summers of Baylor’s life.
With no gym access, Baylor devoured videos that explained how to build strength without weights. He’d ride his bike around town while dribbling basketballs. His drills were inspired by Pete Marovich, a professional basketball player who passed away 12 years before Baylor was born.
To this day, Pistol Pete is his all-time basketball inspiration.
“Growing up, Pistol Pete was my favorite player,” Baylor explained. “He had this movie called The Pistol: The Birth of a Legend, and in it, he had a bunch of drills that he did. That’s where I got it from.”
And, with no basketball courts available during COVID, Baylor found an outdoor hoop in Aurora that allowed him to emulate some of those drills.
“It had this wall [nearby] that would, like, block the wind, so I could actually shoot without the wind affecting it,” he said. “I was just getting creative and trying to do whatever it took to get better.”
Shannon views that summer as a major turning point in her son’s career.
“He took his work ethic to a whole nother level,” she said.
And, it showed.
When Baylor came back for his sophomore season, he went from averaging six points per game and shooting 24.7% from three as a freshman to averaging 15.4 points per game on 43.8% three-point shooting.
But, he maintains that the most important thing the summer of relentless work did for him was simply make him believe.
“I knew that I had put a lot of work in in the offseason to be better,” Baylor said. “It kind of just allowed me to play free, and that’s what allowed me to make that big jump.”
A first impression with the Celtics turned into a first-round draft pick
After his junior year at South Dakota State, Baylor worked out with the Boston Celtics for the first time. He didn’t know what to expect when he traveled from Nebraska to Boston for the workout, which was led by Brad Stevens. Afterwards, he ended up transferring to Creighton, where he’d continue his collegiate career.
Those first days spent with the Celtics were a whirlwind.
“It was kind of shocking to me, being from small-town Nebraska,” Baylor said.
He ended up playing two seasons at Creighton and was eventually named to the First Team Big East All-Conference Team, showcasing a rare ability to shoot, pass, and rebound, all at an elite level.
All the while, the experience with the Celtics stuck.
“He had such a good impression of Boston and how just how professional they are and how they care for their people,” Shannon said. “And he just felt really valued.”
Two years later, when Baylor came back to Boston for a pre-Draft workout, it was night and day.
“I just knew exactly how everything was going to go,” Baylor said. “It gave me the utmost confidence to just be who I am and enjoy the process.”
That multi-year process culminated in him being selected 30th overall by the Celtics and becoming Stevens’ first first-round selection as general manager.
He didn’t attend the NBA Draft; instead, Baylor watched the event from a restaurant in Omaha alongside friends and family. It was a nerve-wrecking occasion.
“As a mom, you just want it for him so bad. I knew he had such a phenomenal NBA combine, he had such a great week,” Shannon said. “And, when he did his workout, it was such good feedback.”
The room tensed up when the Scheiermans heard the names of a slew of international players called before Baylor’s: “All these names were going that we had no idea who they were,” Shannon recalled.
Finally, Baylor got the call that the Celtics were going to pick him.
“He comes walking by, and goes — this is it,” Shannon said.
Nearly a year later, she’s still choked up as she reflects on that defining moment.
Baylor Scheierman is probably having more fun than everyone else
Baylor’s breakthrough game as a Celtic came in mid-March, when he exploded for 20 points in just 16 minutes against the Brooklyn Nets.
He waved to the crowd, talked trash to opposing players, and held his follow-through extra long to emphasize his made threes. In the moment, it just felt like a regular old game.
“Then once you kind of sit back and are able to reflect, you’re like — wow, I just did that in the NBA game,” Baylor said. “Like, it’s actually crazy.”
Back home in Nebraska, his mother cried as she watched the career performance.
“Just joy. To see him play so free…” she trailed off.
For Baylor, that game was part of a month that saw him shoot 47.4% from three and captivate a stunned Celtics crowd that left him speechless.
“You can’t really compare it to anything,” Scheierman said of playing at TD Garden, noting that the 17,000+ person crowd at Creighton was awesome, too.
“But, nothing compares to the Garden.”
And if it looks like he’s having more fun out there than everybody else?
That’s probably true.
“Obviously, I really love basketball, and I really enjoy playing,” he began.
But he also admittedly enjoys putting on a show.
“When you have that kind of energy about you, it’s contagious to everybody else,” Scheierman. “And, you know, I’ve always said it — basketball is a game, and at the end of the day, a lot of people pay to come watch us play. And so it’s, like, why not just put on a show, have a bunch of energy, dive on the floor?”
A lot of the showmanship and jaw-dropping passes were inspired by Pistol Pete, who remains Scheierman’s all-time favorite player despite existing far before his time.
“Just the joy that he played with, the flashiness that he played with, trying to put on a show for the crowd,” Baylor said.
“That’s how I fell in love with the game.”
Today, after big games, Baylor’s phone explodes with messages. The Morning Hawks reach out too — he’s the trio’s big success story, after all.
“After every game that I play in, I have a lot of people that reach out from back home — just obviously very supportive,” Baylor said. “They’re kind of living vicariously through me, just this dream.”
Baylor said that earlier this week, he reflected with his dad about how it’s all unfolded.
“I just remember sitting in the basement with all my high school homies back in high school watching the 2016 finals, where LeBron makes some of these crazy plays, and now I’m out here on the court with them. Did I really ever think that was actually going to happen? I don’t know.”
But, as a kid, Baylor’s on-court antics admittedly didn’t make him the most popular kid in town.
“If you asked the parents in Aurora if they liked me when I was in middle school, they probably did not. Just because I was a little cocky, a little arrogant, running around…” he laughed, seemingly picturing how a young Baylor behaved.
Now in the NBA, Baylor’s ability and desire to put on a show have quickly made him a fan favorite.
“Do whatever you have to do to win, and do it with a smile, or do it while talking crap to the other team, or talking to the crowd,” he said. “That’s how I’ve always been.”
He’s only getting started.
