Pellom’s Rebounding Prowess Led Him to the NBA
2/26/2021 9:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The University at Buffalo men's basketball team currently leads the nation in rebounding, averaging nearly 44 boards per game and Josh Mballa has played a large role in that. The junior forward is averaging a Mid-American Conference-best 10.1 rebounds per game and reminding many Bulls' fans of the team's best rebounder in school history, Sam Pellom.
Pellom played at UB from 1974-78 and still holds the school record for career rebounds with 1,297. Nicknamed "The Franchise," he is one of only two players in school history (along with Curtis Blackmore) to pull down over 1,000 rebounds. He averaged double-digit rebounds each of his four years, highlighted by a 1976 season in which he led the nation with 16.2 rebounds per game and was named an honorable mention All-American.
Pellom was a force in the paint. Not only does he hold the career rebounding record at UB, but he still holds the career blocked shots record as well with 375 - 125 more than second-place Javon McCrea. He once grabbed 31 rebounds in a game against VCU and had 13 blocked shots in a game against Cleveland State. Pellom's 1,403 career points still rank in the top 10 in school history.
His play was not overlooked by NBA scouts as he was signed by the Atlanta Hawks in 1979. He played in almost 200 games for the Hawks and the Milwaukee Bucks between 1979 and 1983. To this day, he is still the only former UB player to play in an NBA game.
A native of Leland, NC, Pellom was inducted into the Dr. and Mrs. Edmond J. Gicewicz Family UB Athletics Hall of Fame in 1983 and in 2013, his no. 50 was hung from the rafters of Alumni Arena.
Pellom was the last UB player to average double-figures in rebounding, pulling down 12.8 boards in 1978. With a strong finish to the season, Mballa has a chance to equal the feat 43 years later.
Pellom played at UB from 1974-78 and still holds the school record for career rebounds with 1,297. Nicknamed "The Franchise," he is one of only two players in school history (along with Curtis Blackmore) to pull down over 1,000 rebounds. He averaged double-digit rebounds each of his four years, highlighted by a 1976 season in which he led the nation with 16.2 rebounds per game and was named an honorable mention All-American.
Pellom was a force in the paint. Not only does he hold the career rebounding record at UB, but he still holds the career blocked shots record as well with 375 - 125 more than second-place Javon McCrea. He once grabbed 31 rebounds in a game against VCU and had 13 blocked shots in a game against Cleveland State. Pellom's 1,403 career points still rank in the top 10 in school history.
His play was not overlooked by NBA scouts as he was signed by the Atlanta Hawks in 1979. He played in almost 200 games for the Hawks and the Milwaukee Bucks between 1979 and 1983. To this day, he is still the only former UB player to play in an NBA game.
A native of Leland, NC, Pellom was inducted into the Dr. and Mrs. Edmond J. Gicewicz Family UB Athletics Hall of Fame in 1983 and in 2013, his no. 50 was hung from the rafters of Alumni Arena.
Pellom was the last UB player to average double-figures in rebounding, pulling down 12.8 boards in 1978. With a strong finish to the season, Mballa has a chance to equal the feat 43 years later.
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