Lost in Iowa State’s 85-76 victory over Texas on Tuesday night was Melvin Ejim becoming the school’s third leading rebounder of all-time.
In his 25 point, eight-rebound performance against the Longhorns, Ejim now has 983 career boards. That was enough for Ejim to surpass Bill Cain (1968-70) on Iowa State’s career list. Ejim should move into second place on the career rebounds chart shortly. Up next for No. 3 is Zaid Abdul-Aziz (1966-68), who snagged 1,025 boards in his career.
Ejim however will not become Iowa State’s all-time leading rebounder, as Dean Uthoff (1977-80) sits alone in first place with 1,233 boards to his name.
Rebounding isn’t the only statistic that Ejim will be remembered for, though.
Starts
Last night, Ejim recorded his 115th career start, which ties for third in Iowa State history with Jake Sullivan (2001-04). Jeff Grayer (1985-88) holds the Iowa State record for career starts at 124. Iowa State head coach Fred Hoiberg (1992-95) currently sits in second, with 123 starts to his name.
Iowa State has five games remaining, which would put Ejim at 120. That means that Iowa State would need to play in five combined postseason games (in the Big 12 and NCAA Tournament) for Ejim to set the record.
Remember that Ejim did not start the first four games of this season due to a knee injury. Otherwise he would be a sure thing to lock this record up.
Games played
Ejim has played in 123 games during his Iowa State career. That currently puts him in a tie for 10th on the all-time list with Rahshon Clark (2005-08), Jake Sullivan and Jeff Hornacek (1983-86).
Ejim is scheduled to tie Iowa State’s all-time leader in games played, Diante Garrett, on Senior Day vs. Oklahoma State on March 8. Garrett played in 128 games during his career as a Cyclone.
God willing, when his career at Iowa State comes to an end, Melvin Ejim will have played in more games in a Cyclone uniform than any other player in history.
Scoring
Ejim passed Ron Harris (1981-85) to become Iowa State’s 15th leading scorer of all-time on Tuesday night. Ejim has now accounted for 1,478 points in his career. Ejim needs to score 195 points the rest of the season to pass Zaid Abdul-Aziz at No. 10 on Iowa State’s all-time scoring list.
Steals
Ejim now ranks 12th on Iowa State’s all-time steals list with 135. Chances are, he will crack the top 10 by the time this season comes to an end. Rahshon Clark is currently 11th on the list with 143. Terry Woods (1987-90) is 10th with 146.
Blocks
Ejim has 49 career blocks. He needs one more to invade the top 20. Chances are, Ejim will end his career in the top 15 as Phil Kunz (1990-91) and David Moss (1983-86) are currently tied at that spot with 57 career blocks.
