The first 1,000-point scorer in SIUE men's basketball history, Rich Essington was a spark plug from 1968 to 1971 for an up-and-coming program. Playing his collegiate basketball in the Edwardsville High School gymnasium, Essington was the Most Valuable Player his senior season and continues to hold assist records for a single season (177) and a single game (16).

Career Statistics

                                            3-Point                     Rebounds

Year      GP-GS   Min/Avg    FG-FGA   Pct   FG-FGA   Pct   FT-FTA   Pct Off-Def  Tot  Avg  PF-FO Ast  TO Blk Stl  Pts/Avg
1968-69   17-0      0/0.0   115-281  .409    0-0    .000   60-83   .723   0-70    70  4.1  51-0    0   0   0   0  290/17.1
1969-70   22-0      0/0.0   145-317  .457    0-0    .000   47-78   .603   0-98    98  4.5  78-0    0   0   0   0  337/15.3
1970-71   26-0      0/0.0   178-437  .407    0-0    .000   99-128  .773   0-55    55  2.1  69-0  177   0   0   0  455/17.5
TOTAL     65-0      0/0.0   438-1035 .423    0-0    .000  206-289  .713   0-223  223  3.4 198-0  177   0   0   0 1082/16.6