Melvin Ejim

Melvin Ejim (pronounced EDGE-um; born March 4, 1991) is a Canadian-Nigerian professional basketball player who currently plays for Virtus Roma of the Lega Basket Serie A. He played college basketball for Iowa State University before going undrafted in the 2014 NBA draft.

High school career

Ejim attended St. Mary's Ryken High School in Leonardtown, Maryland where he made the 2007 Provincial team before transferring to Brewster Academy in New Hampshire. In 2008–09, he averaged 12.3 points and 4.6 rebounds per game for Brewster. In his final year in 2009–10, he averaged 13.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 2.5 assists per game, leading Brewster to a 34-4 record and a National Prep School championship.^[1]

College career

Ejim started 30 games out of 32 in his freshman campaign for Iowa State, averaging 10.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, shooting 48.6 percent from the field (121-249 FG) and tallied 39 steals, second-best total on the team. He became one of just 13 Iowa State freshmen in school history to average double figures in scoring, and his 214 rebounds was the third-best rookie total in school history.^[1]

One of Iowa State’s top post players, Ejim started 29 games out of 34 in 2011–12, averaging 9.3 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. He earned Big 12 Honorable Mention accolades and was a first team Academic All-Big 12 selection.^[1]

One of the best forwards in the Big 12 in 2012–13, Ejim earned All-Big 12 third team honors and was a NABC All-District 8 second team selection; he was also honored as the inaugural Big 12 Scholar Athlete of the Year Award winner and was a Capital One Academic All-District 6 selection. He became the first Cyclone to lead the Big 12 in rebounding (9.3 rpg) since Jackson Vroman (2004) and was just the third player in Big 12 history to lead the league in rebounding at 6'6" or shorter (Terry Black, Baylor; P. J. Tucker, Texas).^[1]

As a senior in 2013–14, Ejim had one of the best seasons in school history, earning Big 12 Player of the Year honors (coaches & AP) and All-America honors from five organizations. He was a finalist for the Oscar Robertson Trophy, became the fifth Academic All-American in school history, earned Capital One first team Academic All-America honors and was named the Big 12 Scholar Athlete of the Year for the second time. He became just the fourth player in league history to record 1,500 points and 1,000 rebounds in a career, finishing his career 12th in scoring (1,643), second in rebounding (1,051), tied for 10th in steals (146) and 15th in blocks (59); he also broke the school record for games played (135) and games started (126).^[1][2]

On February 8, 2014, Ejim scored a Big 12-record 48 points against the TCU Horned Frogs in the Hilton Coliseum, surpassing Michael Beasley and Denis Clemente who had 44 points in 2008 and 2009 respectively.^[3]

College statistics

Professional career

2014–15 season

After going undrafted in the 2014 NBA draft, Ejim joined the Philadelphia 76ers for the 2014 Orlando Summer League.^[4] However, after not receiving any playing time in the 76ers' 77-83 loss to the Orlando Magic on July 5, he left the team^[5] and joined the San Antonio Spurs for the Las Vegas Summer League.^[6]

On July 24, 2014, Ejim signed with Virtus Roma of Italy for the 2014–15 season.^[7][8]

International career

In June 2012, Ejim played for the Nigerian national team on their tour of China.^[9] In July 2013, he played for the Canadian national team at the 2013 World University Games where he averaged 8.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.^[1]

Personal

Ejim is the son of Nigerian native, Elizabeth Omoghan. He is a member of the prestigious Phi Kappa Phi Academic Honors Society.^[1]

References

External links

• Iowa State bio
• Sports-Reference.com Profile