LONDON - New British basketball star Pops Mensah-Bonsu is hoping to inject some of his country's famed bulldog spirit into the Dallas Mavericks line-up this season.

New British basketball star Pops Mensah-Bonsu, pictured March 2006, is hoping to inject some of his country's famed bulldog spirit into the Dallas Mavericks line-up this season. [AFP]

The 23-year-old London-born power forward impressed in the Mavericks' summer league with 8.8 points and 5.4 rebounds after two games, and was promptly rewarded with a two-year deal.

Mensah-Bonsu, whose full name is Nana Papa Yaw Mensah-Bonsu - the latter part of his name means whale killer - is confident his all-action style of play will make a difference to a Mavericks squad which reached last season's NBA finals in June, only to lose the series 4-2 after taking a 2-0 lead.

"I think I can add to the team defensively because I'm a good athlete who can run the floor and do the ugly things," he told AFP.

"Every team needs a player like that, someone who is prepared to sacrifice himself for the team. I'm a team player and always have been; sometimes you have to be prepared to put yourself on the line for your team.

"I think they needed a player of my determination and calibre to bring something different to the squad that they already have here."

Pops, whose family emigrated to London from Ghana in the early 80s, had an impressive collegiate career with George Washington University, where he averaged 12.6 points and 6.7 rebounds in his senior year.

He also led the team in field-goal percentage with a 56.4 average and showed his defensive and athletic prowess by putting his 6ft 9ins frame to good use by topping the blocks chart with 38.

Indeed, his ability to block was a major part of his game in college and he is second on the Colonials' all-time list with 141.

The Tottenham Hotspur fan was the focal point of the GW team that went through the Atlantic-10 season unbeaten to reach last year's NCAA championships, only to lose 74-61 against Duke in the second round.

And he feels it was his indifferent showing against the Blue Devils, in which he scored only four points, that probably cost him his place in the draft.

He had injured his left knee against La Salle University three months earlier and struggled to replicate his best form in the NCAA tournament, prompting NBA teams to consider him too risky an option on which to risk their draft pick.

He added: "I was down for quite a while after that (going undrafted) and it was my friends and family who picked me up and made me realise that I could still achieve my dreams. It was fate that I didn't get drafted, but it's also fate that has brought me to where I am now.

"I came from England as a kid over here to play basketball and I've come a long way. At times it was a hard journey, but I kept on believing in myself and kept going. Even when people thought my knee was gone, I knew it would be fine and I would play in the NBA."

Mensah-Bonsu's vast array of mesmerising slam-dunks brought him immense media coverage during his college days, and he regularly appeared on ESPN SportsCenter for his feats.

However, he is keen to shed the tag of just being a slam-dunker and has been refining other parts of his game in readiness for the season.

"You don't just want to be known as someone who can dunk," he said. "Obviously it's good to do them because the fans like it and it gets them excited, but I want to be an all-round player.

"I'm working on my shooting, passing and dribbling as well as my free-throws. I've not been as good at that as I would have liked during my career and it's definitely an area I'm hoping to brush up on."

Mensah-Bonsu's presence in the NBA further swells the British contingent in the league after Luol Deng shot to prominence with the Chicago Bulls last year, and he believes more Brits could soon follow.

"I think mine and Luol's presence in the NBA will drive some of our peers to get to the NBA because they have the natural talent to do so."