DeKALB —  Friday, senior guard Eugene German scored 27 points to move up toward eighth place in the all-time Mid-American Conference scoring list.

German has reached a total of 2,052 career points, passing former Western Michigan University guard Thomas Wilder.

Currently the only Huskie to be ranked in the top 25, German has the chance to make his way into the top five based on his scoring average this season. 

The Huskies have seven games left before the start of the MAC tournament. German currently averages 20 points per game. If he is able to keep this pace, he can finish the season ranked fourth on the MAC all-time scoring list. 

German has been consistent, averaging around 20 points per game every season since his sophomore season.

German sits 23 points behind former Ohio University guard DJ Cooper. Cooper graduated in 2013 and averaged 14 points per game in his senior season. Cooper’s scoring average didn’t increase much after his first season, averaging 13.5 points per game in 2009.

In German’s first season he averaged nine points per game, the lowest of the top eight scorers in the MAC. 

While German has grown as a scorer since his first season, his senior season is the key difference between him and the other players on the list. For most of the players above him, their last season would be their best scoring season. 

Former Western Michigan University guard David Kool only averaged over 20 points per game once — his senior year. Kool averaged 21.6 points in his final season, but he only averaged 17 points per game for his career.

Another example is former Ohio University guard Dave Jamerson, who ranks second on the MAC all-time scoring list. Despite averaging over 20 points per game for only one season, Jamerson’s career average in points is 20.3. During his final season in 1990 Jamerson averaged 31.2 points, setting the record for the MAC all-time scoring list.

A hopeful sign for German is that five of the top six players on the scoring list have made it to the NBA, including Jamerson who was drafted 15th overall by the Miami Heat in the 1990 draft before being traded to the Houston Rockets. Jamerson had a three-year career at the next level. 

Jamerson’s teammate for three years at Ohio, Paul Graham, is ranked fourth on the all-time scoring list. Graham averaged 22.2 points per game in his final collegiate season. He was able to find his way to the NBA, playing three seasons with the Atlanta Hawks.

Ranked sixth is former Ohio forward Gary Trent, who averaged 22.7 points per game in his three years of play. After his third collegiate season, Trent was drafted 11th overall by the Milwaukee Bucks. 

The final two players listed above German are third-ranked former Eastern Michigan University guard Earl Boykins and first-ranked former Ball State University forward Bonzi Wells.

Boykins was thought to be undersized with a listed height of 5 feet 5 inches. He averaged 26.8 points per game, a major jump from his 12.5 average in his first season. Through many short-term deals, Boykins spent 10 seasons in the NBA. Boykins is the second shortest player ever to play in the NBA.

Wells was a star at Ball State. In his first season, Wells was named a starter, averaging 15.8 points per game. He would later go on to average 25.4 points per game in his sophomore season. After four seasons of play, Wells averaged 21.4 points in his collegiate career. He is the leader for most points scored in the MAC with 2,485. His performances led the Detroit Pistons to draft him 11th overall in 1998. Wells played 10 years in the NBA.

German continues to leave his mark on NIU and in the MAC. While he is on pace to be the fourth all-time scorer, that does not mean he is limited to finishing at that spot. His future performances will dictate where he will finish —  a scoring outburst could help take Boykins’ spot at third. A drought can have German finish well short of fourth. However, given his current total, German would need to average almost 62 points per game for the remaining seven games of the regular season in order to catch Wells.