Keep An Eye On This Sleeper

TRENTON, NEW JERSEY -- Nana Mensah-Bonsu was at the Eastern Invitational's Top 20 All-Star game on Friday night, but not in the capacity that he wanted to be.

Mensah-Bonsu had hoped to participate in this week's second session of the camp, but an injury kept him out of the action. He is hoping to be at 100 percent for next week's AAU Nationals, where he will play with the Penn Jersey Panthers.

Still, Mensah-Bonsu took a few minutes out of his evening on Friday night to speak with the Insiders Report regarding his recruitment.

A 6-8, 217 pound power forward from St. Augustine H.S. in Richland, N.J., Mensah-Bonsu told IR that he has been offered scholarships by LaSalle, Providence, UMass, St. Joe's, Virginia Tech, Towson and George Washington.

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.

As we stated earlier in this piece, Mensah Bonsu's next action will be at the AAU Nationals down in Florida, and the Insiders Report will be there to give you updates from that event, so stay tuned!