When Joel Mensah decided to transfer to James Madison, it was no secret he came in search of more playing time. But that doesn’t mean the big man who spent two seasons at San Diego State simply wants to trade winning for more minutes on the court.
A 6-10, 220-pound forward/center from Ghana, Mensah was rated a four-star recruit by ESPN when he signed with the Aztecs out of Jserra Catholic High School in California. But he struggled to establish himself on a loaded SDSU team that was ranked in the Top 10 of both major national polls when last season came to an end.
After averaging just 6.5 minutes per game and seeing that usage dip even more during the second half of his sophomore season, Mensah put his name in the NCAA transfer portal in April, just a few weeks after Mark Byington left Georgia Southern to take over the rebuilding process at JMU.
“Part of making my decision, I still wanted to be part of a winning program,” Mensah said. “I know JMU has been down in the past, but doing my research on Coach Byington, I know he’s been good with his teams at Georgia Southern and winning every year he was there. Coming to a program where everybody is new, we are all going to look new to the coach, I figured this was a place where everybody has an opportunity to show what they can do. I feel like I should be able to produce and make the team win more games in the upcoming season and I felt like it was really important that I join a staff that was really committed to winning.”
Byington arrived at James Madison coming off three straight seasons with 20 or more wins, but both he and Mensah saw joining JMU, a Colonial Athletic Association school with resources that rival many high-major programs, as an opportunity to take things to the next level.
“He’s going to be a major player for us,” Byington said. “He has a big personality and he has great energy. He came here and he didn’t have the resources this summer to stay in shape and keep working. The first week or two he didn’t have the bounce or the lift, but the past two weeks he’s looking really, really good on defense. Defense is his strength, but he is capable of making 16, 17-foot jump shots. Back-to-the-basket isn’t his best thing, but what I like is he is physical. He’s not afraid of contact.”
Signing Mensah, who was granted immediate eligibility by the NCAA to play for the Dukes this season, changed the look of the Dukes roster. As the only player listed as taller than 6-8, Mensah adds size and can guard the post like a traditional center.
“He was walking through a door the other day and had to duck,” Byington said. “I always like seeing that with basketball players. He’s so eager to learn and to play, he’s going to do whatever we ask him to do.”
But Byington was looking for a big man capable of playing inside and out, and may have one in Mensah. Though he was considered a bit raw entering college, Mensah’s mid-range jumper was always one of the more impressive parts of his game. He says that he’s continued to develop deeper range and should be able to help the Dukes spread the floor offensively.
“I can rebound, I can block shots, I can make mid-range shots,” Mensah said. “And if you leave me out at 3, I’m going to knock that down also. I make sure I can get to where I am comfortable on the floor. In my mid-range game, 90 percent of the time if I shoot I am going to make it, but I’ve been working on expanding my game. I don’t like forcing it, but I play into my strengths.”
