Kansas' forgotten box score series: Elijah Johnson's 39-point explosion against Iowa State
By Tyler Key
When thinking of University of Kansas Men’s Basketball and its insanely long and accomplished history, tons of different names come to mind when thinking about the best scoring Jayhawks ever. Nostalgic and legendary names like Danny Manning, Wilt Chamberlain, and Clyde Lovellette pop up automatically. Then you have your modern-day high-volume scorers who could go off any random game such as Andrew Wiggins, Ochai Agbaji, and Jalen Wilson. Those six players account for seven of the top eight single-game scoring outputs in KU history. The former Jayhawk with the 4th best single-game scoring effort in KU history may come as a big surprise, however… it’s Elijah Johnson.
Johnson played in Lawrence for four years from 2009-2013, averaging 7.0 PPG and 3.0 APG across 135 games wearing Crimson and Blue. His highest scoring season came during his junior year, where he averaged a respectable 10.2 PPG. Then he saw his scoring take a slight dip for his senior season, averaging just 9.9 PPG.
For one night in 2013 however, Johnson helped Bill Self secure his 500th career win when he exploded for 39 points against Iowa State. Not only were every single one of his buckets crucial to the comeback win in overtime, but his performance remains as one of the most clutch 5-minute performances in KU history.