Published: August 06, 2008 10:42 pm      

MSU Academy’s Mensa to play in elite hoops event

Kofi Mensa is a rising junior but his stock seems to be rising faster than that.

Mountain State Academy rising junior Kofi Mensa will play in the Nike Global Challenge as a member of team Canada, MSU Academy coach Rob Fulford said Wednesday.

Mensa and the Canadian team begin play Friday when they play the Lithuanian National team at 4 p.m. at Liberty High School in Portland, Ore.

“Absolutely, it’s a big thing for our program,” Fulford said. “More importantly, it puts his recruitment at another level. To be picked as one of the 12 best players in Canada is an honor for him. And to be seen playing in that environment by all those college coaches is really going to help.”

Fulford said the 6-foot-4, 185-pound shooting guard is currently being recruited by Marshall, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, North Carolina State, Nebraska and he has already been offered a scholarship by Akron.

As is typical of the event, the United States will be heavily favored, although they will have three different teams in the tournament.

Last year’s NGC featured Tyreke Evans (Memphis), Demar DeRozen (USC), Samardo Samuels (Louisville), Drew Gordon (UCLA) and Greg Monroe (Georgetown).

“The United States teams are loaded,” Fulford said. “But I would say Kofi’s team has a chance to win some games.”

The biggest thing for Mensa might be down the road.

“For a Canadian kid, it’s big because being on the team and playing in this type of event serves as kind of a pre-trial for their Olympic team down the road,” Fulford said. “And that’s got to be exciting for him.”