CAREER OVERVIEW | Career Statistics
At the end of his second season with UTA in 2021-22, he ranked 3rd on the program’s all-time blocked shot list with 134 rejections in only 47 games … the only two players ahead of him were Jordan Reves with 168 blocks in 124 games and Jermaine Griffin with 145 blocks in 120 contests … 2.85 career blocks per game average through the 2021-22 season ranked as the 5th-most among all active career Division-I players … nine-career games of 5+ blocks; no one else in program history even had more than three such contests.
Career-High Points: 14 vs. Lamar (12/11/21)
Career-High Rebounds: 14 vs. Little Rock (1/22/21)
Career-High Blocks: 7 vs. Louisiana (1/16/21)
AS A REDSHIRT SOPHOMORE (2021-22) | 4.7 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 2.6 BPG | Game-By-Game Stats
Ranked 20th in the nation with 2.6 blocks per game … tied for 24th in the country with 74 total rejections … the 74 blocks were the 2nd-most in single-season program history behind only 77 by Johnny Hamilton in 2017-18 … led the Sun Belt Conference in league games with 2.2 blocks per contest … the only player in the conference with two games of six blocks – the first came versus Lamar (Dec. 11) and the second occurred at South Alabama (Feb. 25) … both of those performances were tied for the 5th-most rejections in single-game program history … went a perfect 7-7 from the floor in that contest against Lamar to account for a career-high 14 points … tied for the 6th-most makes without a miss in single-game program history (minimum five makes) … #5 play on SportsCenter for Jan. 13 following a one-handed alley-oop finish (video at the end of this page) … four double-figure scoring games … shot 67.4 percent (62-92) from the floor … only missed two free throws all year (12-14) … 16 games of 5+ rebounds, led by a season-high 10 at Oral Roberts (Dec. 16) … 13 contests of 3+ blocks … according to KenPom, he ranked 5th in the nation in block percentage at 14.1 percent – the percentage of opponents’ two-point shots that were blocked by a player while he was on the court … one of only two UTA players to appear in all 29 games, making 25 starts … averaged 21.8 minutes per contest.
AS A REDSHIRT SOPHOMORE (2020-21) | 3.4 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 3.3 BPG | Game-By-Game Stats
Led the Sun Belt in conference games with 3.2 blocks per game … for the year, averaged 3.3 blocks, which would have ranked 3rd in the nation if he qualified (had to appear in 75 percent of UTA’s games; he played in 69 percent due to not being cleared eligibility-wise until mid-December) … his 60 total blocks in 18 games were the 3rd-most in single-season program history and ranked as the 18th-most in the nation … had five games of 5+ blocks; no one else in program history has even had four such games for their careers … #7 play on SportsCenter for Feb. 26 following an alley-oop finish (video at the end of this page) ... first-career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds at Louisiana (Feb. 22) .... grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds against Little Rock (Jan. 22) and recorded a career-best seven blocks on Jan. 15 against Louisiana – both the most by any walk-on in the country during the year ... the seven blocks were tied for the 3rd-most in single-game program history and were the most by a Sun Belt player in a conference game during season ... made his UTA debut with seven minutes against Dallas Christian (Dec. 17), scoring seven points and blocking five shots – at the time tied for the 11th-most in program history … had 10 games of 5+ rebounds and 10 contests of 3+ blocks … ranked 10th in the Sun Belt with 2.5 offensive rebounds per game … started 10 of the final 11 games of the year (lone exception was on Senior Day).
AS A SOPHOMORE (2019-20)
Did not play anywhere in 2019-20, instead choosing to work out in the Dallas area with acclaimed trainer Tyler Relph.
AS A FRESHMAN AT SAGU (2018-19) | Game-By-Game Stats
Was used sparingly and primarily as a shot-blocking threat at NAIA member Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU) in Waxahachie … scored a season-high seven points against Southwestern Christian (Okla.) on Jan. 17 … recorded 27 blocks, including four games of at least three rejections … ranked 42nd in the nation in blocks per game (1.1) despite his minimal time on the court … appeared in 25 games ... suffered a left-foot fracture near the end of the season.
HIGH SCHOOL
Played on the junior varsity team as a junior and varsity team as a senior at Poteet, graduating in 2018 … multi-sport athlete who also lettered in the high jump, and his senior season came to a close at UTA’s Maverick Stadium in the UIL Regional Championship.
PERSONAL
Born on Oct. 7, 1999 … son of Chiderah Akobundu and Solomon Ehiogu … his name means “patience” … was born in Nigeria and lived there until he was 13 … moved to the United States on Oct. 11, 2012 … grew up playing soccer and track; had not touched or even seen a basketball until he moved to the U.S. … kicked a basketball the first time he held one … his cousin introduced him to basketball and started training him … grew from 5-foot-4 when he arrived in the U.S. at age 13 to 6-foot-6 as a senior at age 18 … grew three more inches to his current 6-foot-9 between 2018-20 … has a visual/photographic memory.
