Pops Mensah-Bonsu
From Hoopedia
Nana Papa Yaw Mensah-Bonsu, generally known as Pops Mensah-Bonsu (born September 7, 1983 in London), is a British basketball player and former star at the George Washington University in the Atlantic 10 Conference. He is a graduate of the St. Augustine College Preparatory School, in Richland, New Jersey. Upon graduating from college in 2006, Mensah-Bonsu entered the 2006 NBA Draft, but was not drafted. He now plays for the Dallas Mavericks.
Mensah-Bonsu majored in psychology at The George Washington University, where he played power forward/center. He was second team all-conference in 2004-05 and averaged around 15 points per game for his career. He was best known for explosive dunks and became a favorite of ESPN SportsCenter host Scott Van Pelt, who would often mention Mensah-Bonsu at the end of telecasts.
At George Washington, Mensah-Bonsu helped lead the Colonials to an NCAA Tournament in 2005, where they lost in the first round. The next season was more successful for Mensah-Bonsu and the Colonials, ending the regular season 26-1 and being ranked in the national top 10 for the first time in 50 years. However, he suffered a knee injury near the end of the regular season and he did not return until the 2006 NCAA Tournament, where the injury lessened his production. The injury probably led to him not being drafted by an NBA team. GW lost to Duke in the second round of the NCAA tournament after defeating University of North Carolina Wilmington.
Mensah-Bonsu recently signed a two-year contract with the Dallas Mavericks and played for the Fort Worth Flyers, the NBA D-League affiliate of the Mavericks. He made the D-League All Star Team and was MVP of the game, with 30 points and 7 rebounds.
Mensah-Bonsu was recalled to the Mavericks on February 8, 2007. He scored his first NBA points against the Atlanta Hawks.
In the Ghanaian language Twi, Mensah-Bonsu's name means Chief (Nana) Father (Papa) Thursday Born (Yaw) Three (Mensah) Whale (Bonsu). In several interviews Mensah-Bonsu has intimated that his family earned its surname when an ancestor slew a whale.
