By C.J. Peterson — Staff Writer
Noah Baumann still has the screenshots saved on his iPhone.
Two years removed from high school ball, the San Jose State guard can swipe through his photo gallery and find archived player rankings from his junior year. Some pundits predicted that the Phoenix native would be left out of Division I.
“That’s what really motivated me through high school,” Baumann said gripping the basketball in his hands tighter by the word. “I was looking at all the rankings. I even have pictures to this day of all the rankings that said I was going to be NAIA or Division III.”
The 20-year-old sophomore buried the notion of being unworthy of the NCAA. Instead, he’s become one of SJSU’s most efficient scorers this season.
“He’s been great for us,” said head coach Jean Prioleau. “He’s obviously one of the best three-point shooters in the country. He’s evolving into a player who can make plays for either himself or for others off the dribble … He’s doing a really good job this year.”
Gino Crump, Baumann’s head coach at Desert Vista High School, was one of the first to discover his talents.
As a self-proclaimed “shooters coach,” Crump gravitated toward Baumann after watching the then 16-year-old seldomly miss a shot during an open gym before his junior season.
“The kid could shoot the cover off the ball,” Crump said. “The first thing that impressed me was when I got there, he was a phenomenal young man. I just knew that he was the kind of kid that I would love to coach.”
After missing his junior year because of a herniated disk in his lower back, Baumann entered his senior season as a two-star recruit looking to bounce back.
“I wasn’t even in the top-10 for my position,” Baumann said. “It was weird to look at because I was better than that.”
Along with Crump, Baumann began to catch the eye of top-tier recruiters and coaches, who visited Desert Vista to scout other players on the team.
“We probably had 25 to 30 Division I coaches come in,” Crump said. “Just about every last coach who came into the school inquired about Noah and wanted to recruit him.”
Unfortunately for those coaches, Baumann had already committed to SJSU after taking the last available scholarship under former head coach Dave Wojcik in the summer of 2017.
“It was a little awkward for me because I had already committed,” Baumann said. “I knew where I wanted to be and it was here.”
Averaging 10 points, 3.5 rebounds and three assists per game, Baumann battled back from his injury in his senior season. By doing so, he confirmed SJSU’s decision to offer the lanky sharpshooter an opportunity to don the blue and gold.
Fast forward to his sophomore season as a Spartan — that decision proved to be valuable as the once NCAA afterthought has risen his game to new heights.
In early January, Baumann reached the No. 1 ranking for 3-point shooting percentage in the nation, hitting 55 percent of his attempts. He also set a program record with a 3-pointer in 22 consecutive games on Feb. 18 against UNLV.
Scoring 9.8 points per game, Baumann is the third-leading scorer for the Spartans this year behind juniors forward Michael Steadman and guard Brae Ivey.
While Baumann has since dropped off of the national list for 3-point percentage simply for not shooting the three ball, he says he’s taken this season’s success to heart.
With that same fortune, he says he’s saved a new few screenshots on his phone this year — text messages to an old coach, who helped push Baumann to SJSU.
“The coach who actually recruited me, [now St. Mary’s Assistant Athletic Director for Men’s Basketball Tyler] Ojane, I texted him and I said ‘I can be a 50-percent three point shooter,’” Baumann said. “I saved those texts and I still believe it … It comes from that motivation of not initially being recruited.”
Follow C.J. on Twitter @cj_peterson1
