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3 - Melvin Ejim

6-6, 220 Small Forward/Power Forward
Iowa St. Senior
Birthday
03/04/91 (33 yrs)
Hometown
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
High School
Brewster Academy
Team Site Profile
Statistics
Athleticism
8
Size
6
Defense
7
Strength
7
Quickness
6
Leadership
8
Jump Shot
8
NBA Ready
8
Ball Handling
6
Potential
6
Passing
6
Intangibles
7
83 Overall:

NBA Comparison: DeMarre Carroll/PJ Tucker

Strengths: Strong, hard-nosed wing player with a knack for finishing at the rim … Excellent rebounding swingman who averaged 8.4 RPG this season and 9.3 RPG his junior season … Very efficient scorer who shot over 50% from the field last season.  Ejim gets himself a lot of easy, in-close opportunities and knows how to finish through contact … Good post moves for his size.  Scores on a lot of one-handers and floaters around the basket … Great alley-oop target.  Can be a nightmare in transition and is a very fast straight-line sprinter … Makes great cuts to the basket and this is where several of his alley-oops are generated … Hits the offensive glass with ferocity and gets himself a lot of second-chance points.  Decent shooting range.  Can step out and hit a 3 or two every game … Good versatility.  Ejim is an inside-outside threat with both range and post ability … Fairly good athlete, especially in terms of leaping ability …Physically, Ejim has a strong frame and good length (6’10" wingspan) … Ejim meshed well with fellow stars DeAndre Kane and Georges Niang to lead Iowa St. to a 3 seed and a Sweet Sixteen appearance … Solid free throw shooter (76% last season) who gets to the line at a fair rate due to his physicality around the hoop … Had arguably the performance of the 2013-14 season with an Iowa St. record 48 points on 20-24 shooting against Texas Christian, and recorded 18 rebounds in the same game …

Weaknesses: Ejim’s unique hodgepodge of skills combine to make him a player lacking a true position … His build and limited post ability are reminiscent of a power forward, but he doesn’t have nearly the size or the well-developed post game to be a true power forward … He does, however, have a great deal of athleticism, but his lack of quickness and ball-handling ability limit him as a perimeter player … His first step is not very good, which is a shame considering his finishing ability.  He often needs to get the ball close to the hoop to be able to make use of his ability to fight through contact … His lack of quickness also causes him to sometimes struggle to stay in front of his man on the perimeter, although his strength helps alleviate this concern … For a forward, his ball-handling ability is quite limited and he struggles to create his own shot on the perimeter … Since so much of his game is predicated on going to work inside and cutting to the basket, then getting fed the ball, Ejim could potentially struggle in the NBA as he faces bigger interior defenders … Ejim benefited greatly from playing with Kane and Niang, who were often the two best passers on the court.  When he reaches the NBA, the defense will be less susceptible and he may not have the benefit of playing with a superior setup man … His range is still a little shaky and he’s a passable, but not huge threat from the outside … Another facet of his game that will be limited in the pros is his rebounding.   Once again, the level of athleticism, size, and fundamentals will prevent him from dominating on the boards as he did as a 6’6" forward at the college level …

Notes: Named AP Big 12 Player of the Year over super-freshman Andrew Wiggins of Kansas and talented OSU guards Marcus Smart and Markel Brown…

Overall: Ejim is a powerful forward who has a scoring instinct when he gets the ball in close.  This is supplemented by a great second-chance scoring ability and decent shooting range.  However, Ejim is limited as both a shot creator on the perimeter and a scorer in close.  All in all, he showed time and time again during his senior year that he could score in a variety of ways, but it will be interesting to see how his game translates to the NBA.  He should get a second round look, though, as he will be one of the more productive and successful players in the lower tiers of this draft class…

Jacob Stallard 4/19/14

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