Karl Hobbs Staff Getting Job Done At GWU

Mike Hall, a 6-6 forward from Alan B. Sheppard High School in Illinois, committed to George Washington. Hall played for the very talented Illinois Warriors on the summer AAU circuit. Rivalshoops watched Hall play several times and it appears to be a good match for Hall.

GWU head coach Karl Hobbs and his staff have already received commitments from talented swingman Omar Williams and Nana "Pops" Mensah-Bonsu, a 6-8, 219 pound jumping jack from St. Augustine H.S. in Richland, N.J. Mensah-Bonsu committed to George Washington last week.

Mensah-Bonsu picked George Washington University over Boston College.

Following the Charlie Weber Tournament this past weekend, Mensah-Bonsu took a trip to George Washington from Sept. 22-24. He was slated to take an official visit to Boston College from Oct. 5-7, but that has now been canceled.

"I had seen the campus before already, so I already knew what to expect," Mensah-Bonsu explained. "They really could not show me nothing that I had not seen before, but it was the atmosphere and players that were the main factors."

While on his visit, Mensah-Bonsu ran into an old friend, GW freshman point guard T.J. Thompson. The two had met previously at some summer basketball events, and it was Thompson who was Pops' host on the trip.

"He showed me around and showed me the ropes and told me the truth about everything," Mensah-Bonsu said. "All of the people that I met, I could see that they were telling the truth, and it looked like the place that I wanted to be. It convinced me so much that I did not have to take any other visits."

Mensah-Bonsu averaged 10 points, six rebounds and three blocks per game as a junior at St. Augustine. He said he has a 2.7 GPA and scored a 990 on the PSAT. He will sit for the real thing on Oct. 13.

Mensah-Bonsu was a bit under-recruited this summer because he did not attend a ton of events in July. He did play with the Penn Jersey Panthers down at the AAU Nationals in Florida, and he impressed us with his athleticism and potential this spring at several events.

Mensah-Bonsu displayed quite a bit of potential at some events earlier this year, most notably at the Prime Time Shootout in Trenton during the high school season and at the N.J. Hoops Showcase in April.

He's mobile and athletic, and showed that he can rebound in bunches and block quite a few shots for a 6-8 player. If he can continue to add strength and size to his frame, as well as polish up his offensive game, then Mensah-Bonsu will be one tough customer to deal with on the South Jersey high school scene next winter.

This past season, he averaged 10 points, seven rebounds and two blocks per contest for Paul Rodio's Hermits, a perennial South Jersey powerhouse.

Mensah-Bonsu's older brother, Kojo, preceded him to the United States from England, and after attending Champlain J.C. in Vermont for two years, he landed a scholarship to Washington State University of the PAC 10.

Williams, a talented 6-8, 175 pound small forward from Celestial Christian High School in Philadelphia, Pa., committed to George Washington around September 27th. Williams had told us he had a top two of George Washington and Ohio State this summer.

Williams, who played at Philly Christian last year but is following Coach Darryl Schofield to Celestial, averaged 12 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and two blocks per game last year.

Williams said he has a 2.7 GPA in the core and scored a 930 on the SAT. He said he hopes to wrap up his academic requirements this year at Celestial and move on to the Division I level.

Included in Williams' summer pit stops were the War in the Woods, the adidas ABCD Camp, the Three Stripes Classic (with the Philly Panthers), the adidas Big Time Tournament (Sam Rines) and the Best of the Summer Tournament (Sam Rines).

So it appears that George Washington has a very healthy future.