Tyheim Monroe Rewriting The Record Book At Cabrini

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- For many, if not most, college basketball players, a 22-point, 16-rebound performance would be a career night.

For Division III Cabrini University senior Tyheim Monroe, it's a Tuesday.

The 6'6" forward from Philadelphia is AVERAGING 22.5 points and 16.5 rebounds a game for the 13-2 Cavaliers.

"I'm actually having a lot of fun this season," Monroe tells KYW Newsradio. "Then most importantly is having the young guys come in and showing them the ropes and being able to lead them and show them the right way the game [is played] has been the most fun for me, so far."

Impressive numbers are nothing new for Monroe, an Olney Charter High School product. For his career at Cabrini, Monroe is averaging 18.5 points and 13.8 rebounds. He is the the program's all-time leader in points (1,743) and rebounds (1,301).

Cabrini head coach Tim McDonald, however, says Monroe's importance to the team transcends the numbers.

"He's been a leader on the floor," McDonald tells KYW Newsradio. "Not just in games, but in practice, setting the tone for us. This is his last go around, he wants to try and come out with a championship at the end. Like he says to guys all the time, he has all the individual awards that he ever needed or wanted, he wants to make sure that we continue to grow as a team so we can have that team championship at the end of the year, something he hasn't had in his first three years here."

In his last game, Monroe racked up the 72nd double-double of his career (in 94 career games), finishing with 27 points and 10 rebounds in a 105-76 win over a very good Neumann team. Monroe's entire offensive game was on display in this one, including his touch from three as he hit three shots from behind the arc.

"He'll go into the post," McDonald says of Monroe. "But he has such good ball handling skills for a big guy that he'll go down there, face up on bigger guys and go by them. But he will use his size now to go at the rim when he has a smaller guy on him or an athletic post player.

"He's really stretched the floor," McDonald adds. "He's really worked on his jump shot, he had a few threes [against Neumann] and that's something that he's put the work in in the off-season to really make sure that, with that, we could have five guys on the floor at any time that can easily knock down the three-point shot which opens up the floor, not just for him, but for the rest of this team as well."

Monroe's rebounding average leads the nation this season, by a lot (nearly three rebounds a game). That is also nothing new as he was the country's top rebounder as both a sophomore (15.3 rpg) and a junior (15.8 rpg) as well. He talks about what makes him so fierce on the glass.

"I've been going with this same philosophy since my freshman year - I want it more," he says. "That's what I think at the end of day. Coming from Philadelphia, growing up in my area, I know there's a lot tougher guys than me and everything like that and I just go out every day like it's my last game and it's my chance to show people that I can really play basketball. It's not just about putting the ball in the hoop, if I can impact the game in other areas, which is rebounding so far in my career, then I'm going to go out and do it every night. It's just heart at the end of the day if you ask me."

Monroe's senior year is winding down, but he says he's enjoying every minute he has left as a Cavalier.

"I've met some great people here at Cabrini," he says. "From faculty, staff, everyone at the Dixon Center [Cabrini's home gym] and everything. So I'm just enjoying my time here and then think about my career and my future afterwards."

Monroe and the rest of the Cavaliers will visit Marywood on Friday night.