Rumor has that the Mavericks are

[MoSpur]

letting Pops Mensah-Bonsu go. He will officially become a free agent Saturday. Does anyone know anything about this guy? Is he any good? Is he a long three or what? Please give info.

[50 cent]

He sucks.

[monosylab1k]

Incredible athlete. No basketball skills to speak of. It's a comedy routine when he tries to dribble.

I'm kinda sad to see him go cuz of his athleticism, but there's hundreds of 12 year olds out there with more basketball skills than he's got.

[SenorSpur]

Here's the vitals on Pops Mensah-Bonsu

Born: Sep 7, 1983
Height: 6-9 / 2,06
Weight: 240 lbs. / 108,9 kg.
College: George Washington
Years Pro: 1

He's not a long three, he's more of a PF type.

Attributes:
Long and very athletic (Can run the court and has tremendous hops)
Decent defender
Tenacious around the glass
Good weakside shotblocker

Deficiencies:
Very raw player; still learning the game
Can't shoot
Foul prone
Lacks funadmentals and post moves
Horrific FT shooter (which already makes him worthy of Spurs consideration)

[SenorSpur]

Incredible athlete. No basketball skills to speak of. It's a comedy routine when he tries to dribble.

I'm kinda sad to see him go cuz of his athleticism, but there's hundreds of 12 year olds out there with more basketball skills than he's got.

I hear ya, He was much-hyped in college. In fact, ESPN was part of the hype machine. They did a piece on him and followed him around the campus at GW. This guy was a God to everyone on campus.

Saw him in the 2006 NCAA tournament because I wanted to see what the hype was about. I was somewhat disappointed because I thought he was a bit more polished than what I saw. Very raw. All he could do was rebound and dunk. Freakishly athletic. In the end, he did foul out of the game and his team lost.

[Big P]

I thought I read a couple of days ago, that they picked up his option.

[monosylab1k]

I thought I read a couple of days ago, that they picked up his option.
no, i just heard on the radio here that they decided not to. he's a decent "project" pickup but it's going to be years before he can make a meaningful contribution.

[Big P]

You're right..my bad..I just saw that as well....the Spurs have no need for another PF though.

[MoSpur]

Thanks guys. I wanted info because in the past I heard about this guy and was wondering what was up. Seems like a good project.

[SenorSpur]

If the Spurs didn't already have Ian, he might be worth the risk. At the end of the day, I don't see them taking a flyer on him.

[duncan228]

They're still considering Chris Webber and P.J. Brown.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/basketball/mavs/stories/083107dnspomavsshort.366ae04.html

Mavs to let Pops become free agent

Mensah-Bonsu can play in Europe; team decides not to pick up option

By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News

The Mavericks have elected not to exercise their option on Pops Mensah-Bonsu, meaning the 6-9 forward will become a free agent Saturday.

The team had until today to guarantee Mensah-Bonsu's contract for the upcoming season. That would have cost the team $687,456. By letting his contract expire, it means any NBA team can claim Mensah-Bonsu off waivers, although that seems unlikely as they would be responsible for his full salary this season.

The Mavs' decision clears the way for Mensah-Bonsu to play in Europe this season, president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson said.

"Pops wants to go somewhere where he can play," Nelson said. "And this keeps our options open if we want to try to get him back in the future."

Mensah-Bonsu played 12 games last season, averaging 2.4 points and 1.8 rebounds.

The Mavs have 15 guaranteed contracts for this season and still are considering adding a veteran big man such as Chris Webber or P.J. Brown. That would require jettisoning another player.

[spurs_fan_in_exile]

Well, there's one test he'll need to pass first...


Pops Mensah-Bonsu!

No. I'm just not feeling it.

[saporvida]

rumor has that the mavericks are... the biggest chokers in nba history? yep check that off the list.

rumor has that the mavericks are... a bunch of pussies? that deserves a check too.

rumor has that the mavericks are... setting dissapointing records yr in and yr out? checkmark!

[Ronaldo McDonald]

He seems like a diamond in the rough similar to how been ben wallace was

[ducks]

rumor always is mavs signing all star fa's and do not

[nfg3]

clasic example of a player that really needed to stay in school and develop but seemed to have got caught up in the hype and went pro. Now he either plays CBA or Euroleague or gets blown out of the sport. This needs to be made into a video/CD and shown to all incoming college freshman. They need to understand that only 3% (that's what sticks in my mind) of all college athletes make to the pros. All others end up somewhere else. Though I don't know much about him it sounded like he had potential but just didn't develop it enough.

[MoSpur]

Yup, I remember hearing what a great athlete he was and then he went to the Mavericks. End of story! Too bad.

[Mr. Body]

Wake me up when Miami or whoever it was that drafted Jared Dudley releases him.

[MoSpur]

How many players does Miami have signed already?

[ChumpDumper]

If the Spurs didn't already have Ian, he might be worth the risk. At the end of the day, I don't see them taking a flyer on him.Yep. Someone should sign him though. He can still be sent down to the D-League this season.

[timvp]

Pops Mensah-Bonsu has the type of defensive skillset that would allow him to guard Dirk rather well. I wouldn't mind taking him on as some sort of project that is trained to get revenge on the team that gave up on him.

All things being equal, I bet he could pretty easily beat Marcus Williams out of a roster spot.

[MoSpur]

The fact that he is 6-9 and 240 is a +.

[mardigan]

Sign him up
Hes still pretty young right?

[ALVAREZ6]

Ben Wallace

[MoSpur]

He sure is. He was born on 9-7-83. So he is just about to turn 24.

[timvp]

clasic example of a player that really needed to stay in school and develop but seemed to have got caught up in the hype and went pro. Now he either plays CBA or Euroleague or gets blown out of the sport. This needs to be made into a video/CD and shown to all incoming college freshman.Hopefully that video would be fact checked first because your take is totally wrong. Pops stayed all four years in school and by all accounts was a very dedicated student.

He would have been a first round draft pick after his freshman, sophomore or junior years ... but he made the mistake of caring about getting an education. He suffered a knee injury in his senior season and that pretty much kept him from getting drafted.

Well, actually, you might have a point about making a video about him. The video should be about leaving school once you are projected to go in the first round or else you could lose millions with no recourse.

You can always go back and finish your education. You can't guarantee that you won't get injured and lose guaranteed first round money.


http://graphics.fansonly.com/schools/gewa/graphics/m-baskbl-05-06-senior-pic.jpg

[ChumpDumper]

Pops Mensah-Bonsu has the type of defensive skillset that would allow him to guard Dirk rather well. I wouldn't mind taking him on as some sort of project that is trained to get revenge on the team that gave up on him.We need a long SF! But I guess we've gone this long without one....

[MoSpur]

Trade Beno

[Spurs Brazil]

A Pops out
In a move that will probably not affect the balance of power in the Western Conference, the Mavericks announced today that forward Pops Mensah-Bonsu has been placed on waivers. If he gets through -- and there is little doubt that he will -- he will likely sign with an Italian team. The Mavericks had to make the move or else Pops salary would have been guaranteed for the season.

Mensah-Bonsu played in only 12 games for the Mavericks last season.
http://startelegram.typepad.com/mavs_fullcourt_press/2007/08/a-pops-out.html

[Spurs Brazil]

Treviso: arriva `pops` Mensah-Bonsu
01/09/2007 11.35.15


(AGM-DS) - Milano, 1 settembre - La Benetton Basket aggiunge sotto canestro i centimetri (206) ed i chili (108) di `Pops` Mensah-Bonsu. Il giovane centro inglese di origine ghanese, classe 1983, e` in uscita dai Dallas Mavericks, con cui ha disputato l’ultima stagione dopo l’esperienza al college di George Washington. Il giocatore, che con la Benetton Basket ha siglato un accordo annuale, sara` a Treviso mercoledi` prossimo per aggregarsi al gruppo.

Si tratta di un giocatore `verticale`, dotato di grande potenziale atletico, saltatore con tempismo per rimbalzi e stoppate famoso per le sue spettacolari schiacciate ma anche concreto in fase realizzativa, come testimoniano le sue cifre al college, sempre vicine al 60% dal campo.

Nana Papa Yawdwene Mensah-Bonsu (questo il suo nome per intero) nasce a Londra il 7 settembre del 1983: in patria fin da giovanissimo pratica svariati sport, a cominciare dal calcio per finire con l’atletica leggera. Ben presto pero` emerge la passione per il basket e, vista la taglia fisica, viene scelto nel 1998 dalla Prep High School di St. Augustine, nel New Jersey, dove impara i rudimenti sotto canestro da coach Paul Rodio e contemporaneamente veste le divise delle squadre scolastiche di salto in alto e di salto in lungo, sfruttando potenza ed esplosivita` di gambe.

Nell’anno da senior a St. Augustine `svolta` scegliendo la pallacanestro e chiudendo la stagione con cifre di tutto rispetto: 15 punti, 12 rimbalzi e 3 stoppate di media a partita, che gli consentono nell’estate del 2002 di ricevere la chiamata del college di George Washington.
Con la maglia dei Colonials impressiona per i grandi mezzi fisici uniti ad una mano morbida nell’area colorata, dove inizia subito a fare la differenza, sia in attacco che in difesa: nell’anno da freshman e` il migliore dei suoi per media realizzativa (58.5%) e per stoppate date (1.1), cui aggiunge 9.8 punti e 5 rimbalzi. Cifre che salgono di livello nella stagione successiva, quando viene eletto giocatore piu` progredito della sua conference, l’Atlantic 10 (11.6 punti, 5.4 rimbalzi ed il 61.6% dal campo con 1.2 stoppate in 21.2 minuti giocati a sera). Pops Mensah-Bonsu e` ormai noto per le sue prestazioni, specialmente per le schiacciate spettacolari che non lesina al pubblico, entrando spesso e volentieri nella cassifica settimanale degli highlights stilata dalla ESPN. Continua i progressi sia dal punto di vista tecnico che atletico e nel suo ultimo anno di college viene scelto per il quintetto ideale della Atlantic 10, dopo aver confezionato 12.6 punti, il 56.7% dal campo, 6.7 rimbalzi ed 1.7 stoppate.

Nel 2005 Pops Mensah-Bonsu si dichiara in anticipo ai Draft, nell’estate del 2006 firma un contratto con i Dallas Mavericks provando l’esperienza in Nba: dopo la preseason con i Mavs, si fa le ossa in inverno nella D-League con la casacca dei Forth Worth Flyers allenati dalla vecchia gloria dei pro Sydney Moncrief: in 26 uscite, “Pops” fattura 16 punti, 10.4 rimbalzi e 1.3 stoppate di media, “esplodendo” nell’All Star Game con una prestazione 30 punti e 7 rimbalzi che gli vale il titolo di Mvp.
A febbraio viene richiamato dai Mavericks per la seconda fase della stagione, entrando in campo in 12 occasioni, con 2.4 punti ed 1.8 rimbalzi in 6 minuti di media sul parquet.

Nel corso dell’estate i Mavericks hanno testato Mensah-Bonsu nelle due principali Summer League statunitensi: a Las Vegas 8.2 punti ed 8.8 rimbalzi a sera in 4 partite (23.5 minuti di media), mentre nella Rocky Mountain Revue di Salt Like City “Pops” ha tenuto 11.7 punti, 8.3 rimbalzi in 27 minuti sul parquet nelle 3 gare disputate da Dallas.

Nato e cresciuto a Londra, ma di origini ghanesi, ha 4 fratelli uno dei quali, Kojo, gioca a basket in Portogallo. Curiosita`, il suo cognome Mensah-Bonsu, nella lingua ghanese Twi, significa `cacciatore di balene` e pare derivi da una leggenda che vide protagonista uno dei suoi avi.

http://www.datasport.it/leggi.aspx?id=4564232