4th August 2006 Mensah-Bonsu Signs With Dallas Mavericks Pops Mensah-Bonsu became the second Englishman (after Joel Freeland) this summer to sign with an NBA side when the Dallas Mavericks agreed to terms with the London native on Thursday evening. After going undrafted in the 2006 NBA draft, free agent Mensah-Bonsu joined the Mavericks summer league squad where he averaged over 8 points and 5 rebounds throughout two sessions. “We are really excited about Pops joining the Mavericks,” President of Basketball Operations Donn Nelson said. “His energy and attitude were the determining factors in this decision. He will bring added athleticism to our front line.” It's a blessing," said Mensah-Bonsu, 22, "I've been working for this since I've been playing basketball. To make it official is hard to believe. It's a dream come true." Mensah-Bonsu (6-9, 240) is a former standout at George Washington University where he earned First Team Atlantic-10 honours in 2005-06. As a senior he averaged 12.6 points and 6.7 rebounds, while leading the Colonials in field goal percentage (56.4%) and blocked shots (38) – a category where he ranks second on George Washington’s career list with 141. As a junior, the forward was a Second Team Atlantic-10 selection and was voted the Atlantic-10 Most Improved Player as a sophomore. He also stands out as having a 38 inch vertical leap. 30 June 2006 Thursday 29 June 2006 England’s Freeland Blazes into the NBA Last year Joel Freeland was playing in England Basketball’s RAF Under-18 National League - and working in a local supermarket to help fund his basketball development, including his participation with England’s U-18 team at the 2006 European championships. Last night, just a year later, at New York’s Madison Square Garden, Joel Freeland was on hand with his parents Rob and Gayle, to hear his name read out as a 1st Round draft pick by the Portland Trail Blazers. This is an astonishing achievement for the young man from Farnham, in the south of England, who has only been playing organised basketball for three years. Listed at 6’10” on NBA’s website Joel is just 19 years old. In the autumn of 2004 he was nominated for the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS) by England Basketball’s Performance Manager Radmila Turner. The support from TASS enabled Joel to travel from his home in Surrey to Southampton to train with one of England’s best coaches of basketball fundamentals, Jimmy Guymon. Coach Jimmy Guymon was up all last night watching the draft on television and talking with Joel’s parents: “Joel made this happen because he was prepared to work on his fundamentals and put in the extra hours of repetitious training to improve his individual skills. To me this is what sets Joel apart from other talented players in England and has made his dream come true.” Joel appeared in two of England Basketball’s National League Finals in 2005. At the Sure Shot Finals for the RAF Under-18 knockout competition he led his Solent team to the title with 26 points and was awarded the MVP trophy by ex-NBA star John Amaechi (see photo). Joel also featured that season with the Solent Stars Division 3 team that reached the 2005 finals under the helm of experienced coach Mickey Byrne: “Joel’s dad had approached us regarding his son’s basketball development. We didn’t want to have him solely playing senior basketball straight away as it was important for his development to have him work on his fundamental skills first. He improved rapidly as the season progressed.” Later in 2005, playing for the England U-18 team Joel averaged 13.6 points and 8.3 rebounds per game over eight matches at the European B Division championship. The 2005 England U-18 Coach Mick Bett comments that “Joel went to the tournament untried and untested at international level but really stepped up and rose to the challenge.” His performances at the European championship encouraged a subsequent move to Spain. For the season 2005-2006, Joel Freeland played for the Gran Canaria Fadesa club in the Spanish U-22 national league and averaged 14.8 points (at 54% accuracy) and 7.6 rebounds per game. Joel’s attitude and capacity for hard work, along with further quality coaching at Gran Canaria and playing at a higher level, have seen him continually improve at an impressive rate. He impressed the NBA scouts at the Reebok Treviso Eurocamp recently and proved he has acquired the fundamental skills to develop further. The scouting reports state that he has the quickness, coordination and jumping ability to develop into a quality NBA forward. He is also described as being a good shooter from outside with excellent moves near to the basket, not afraid of contact and an excellent defender. Joel’s attitude, intelligence, work ethic, intensity and desire to improve are also commented on. Upon being drafted Joel has been quoted as saying: “I feel I’m not yet NBA ready but I’m willing to work as hard as I can to be able to reach my goal, which is finally playing in the NBA”. Basketball followers here will be hoping that a further goal will be to see Joel Freeland playing for Great Britain at the 2012 Olympic Games.
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