Nathan Mensah Season 2020-21

Completed his Aztec career ranked No. 1 in games started, No. 2 in blocks, victories, conference victories, games played & efficiency points, No. 3 in rebounds, No. 11 in field goal percentage, No. 11 in minutes, and No. 14 in points-rebounds-assists. Is the second player in program history to score at least 800 points, grab at least 700 rebounds and block at least 200 shots in his career.
 
As a Senior (2022-23 Season)
Took advantage of the NCAA’s offer of an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic
SDSU Single-Season Rankings: No. 7 in blocks & wins
MW Rankings: No. 1 in blocks, No. 6 in offensive rebounds, No. 10 in rebounds
NCAA Rankings: No. 27 in blocks, No. 49 in blocks per game, No. 146 in rebounds, No. 236 in offensive rebounds, No. 316 in rebounds per game.
Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year (coaches)… Mountain West All-Defensive Team (coaches)… Third-Team All-Mountain West (coaches)… Honorable Mention All-Mountain West (media)... Academic All-Mountain West... A starter in all 39 games… Averaged 6.0 points and 5.9 rebounds in 20.8 minutes per game… Added 22 assists 26 steals and 65 blocked shots in 811:20 of total action… Shot 52.1 percent (87-of-167) from the floor, 50.0 percent (1-of-2) from the bonus distance and 64.8 percent (59-of-91) from the line… Set career highs with 811:20 minutes, 59 free throws, free throw 91 attempts, 83 offensive rebounds, 149 defensive rebounds, 232 total rebounds, 22 assists and 234 points… Finished the season as the nation’s No. 10 active shot blocker, No. 32 rebounder and No. 39 in shots blocked per game… After missing 19 games at the end of the 2019-20 season, played in 96 straight to close out his career… At the end of the season was one of three active players to have totaled at least 950 career points, 890 career rebounds, 235 career blocks and hit two 3-point shots… At the Maui Jim Maui Invitational vs. Arizona (11/22), for the third time in his career, shot 100.0 percent from the floor (3-of-3 FG) and grabbed seven rebounds; he is the only Aztec since at least the start of the 1996-97 season to accomplish those stats in a game with a minimum of three field goal attempts… Reached double figure scoring six times with a single-game high 18 points vs. UC Irvine (11/29)… Shot a minimum of 50.0 percent from the floor in 25 games… Shot 100.0 percent from the floor in four games, all with a minimum of three field goal attempts… Knocked down a season-high seven shots vs. UC Irvine and made a minimum of three shots in 18 games… In 21 games in which he scored at least six points, SDSU went 19-2… His lone three pointer on the season and the second of his college career, came against UC San Diego (12/20) among two attempts - also at Boise State (2/28) - on the season… Set a career-high with nine free throws vs. Boise State (2/3) and matched his career-best in attempts (12) in that game… Shot a minimum of 75.0 percent from the line in 12 of the 20 games in which he went to the line at least twice… Grabbed double digit rebounds in three contests, including a pair double doubles with 14 points and 11 rebounds vs. BYU (11/11) and 11 points and 11 rebounds vs. UNLV (2/11)… Pulled down at least six rebounds in 23-of-39 appearances with his single-game season best 11 boards coming at UNLV (12/31) and against UNLV… Totaled at least three offensive boards in 12 games, including matching a career-best seven vs. UNLV… Had at least one block in 32 of 39 games, including 19 games with multiple blocks, and a single-game high 5 in the team’s Sweet 16 victory over No. 1-seed Alabama… In games in which he had at least two blocks the team was 17-2 and when he swatted at least three, SDSU was 9-0… Had at least one block in 72 of his final 82 college games, including two or more in 44 of those contests… His career 1.62 blocks per game ranks fourth in program history and ahead of SDSU Hall of Fame inductee Michael Cage (1.053/g)… Recoded multiple steals in five games with a season-high four coming against Ohio State (11/21) in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational… Played at least 20 minutes in 23 games with a single-game high 30:38 vs. Troy (12/5).

As a Senior (2021-22 Season)
SDSU Single-Season Rankings: No. 6 in blocks
MW Rankings: No. 1 in blocks, No. 5 in offensive rebounds, No. 7 in rebounds, No. 13 in defensive rebounds
NCAA Rankings: No. 26 in blocks, No. 30 in blocks per game, No. 146 in offensive rebounds per game, No. 166 in rebounds, No. 168 in rebounds per game, No. 304 in defensive rebounds per game
Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year (coaches & media)… Mountain West All-Defensive Team (coaches)… Mountain West All-Tournament Team... Third-Team All-Mountain West (media)… Honorable Mention All-Mountain West (coaches)… A starter in all 32 contests… Averaged 7.0 points and 6.9 rebounds in 24.8 minutes per game… Added 71 blocks, 27 steals and 20 assists in a total of 792.33 of action… Shot 92-of-191 (48.2 percent) from the field, 1-of-4 (25.0 percent) from the bonus distance, and 40-of-75 (53.3 percent) from the line… Established career-high with 792:33 of action, 92 field goals, 191 field goal attempts, one 3-pointers and four 3-point attempts, 145 defensive rebounds, 221 total rebounds, 27 steals, 71 blocks and matched his career best with 20 assists… Recorded five steals and four blocks vs. New Mexico (1/31) and according to STATS LLC, is the only player 6-10 or taller in 2021-22 to post those two stats in a game and is just the second player in Aztecs history, regardless of height, to accomplish the feat (also: Matt Watts vs. San Jose State on Feb. 27, 1999)… Was one of five players nationally who are 6-10 or taller to block at least 71 shots and make at least one 3-pointer in 32 or fewer games… With 11 rebounds vs. Long Beach State (11/30), became the seventh player in the Dutcher/Fisher era (since the start of the 1999-00 season) to score 500 points, grab 500 rebounds and block 100 shots… Against Long Beach State (11/30) grabbed 11 rebounds without scoring a point and became the only Aztec to grab double digit boards without appearing in the scoring column, since at least the start of the 1996-97 season… Among seven double-digit scoring games, he established a career-high vs. UC San Diego (12/22) with 19 points… Also had 18 points at Brigham Young (11/12), 14 vs. Air Force (2/12), 13 at Boise State (2/22) and 10 each against Arizona State (11/18) at UNLV (1/1) and vs. Boise State (1/22)…  Combined his 13 points at Boise State (2/22) with 11 rebounds for his lone double double of the campaign… Sank a career-high nine field goals vs. UC San Diego (12/22)… Had six games with double digit shot attempts: vs. Saint Mary’s (12/17), vs. UC San Diego (12/22), at UNLV (1/1), vs. Boise State (1/22), vs. UNLV (1/24) and at Boise State (2/22)… His 14 field goal attempts at UNLV (1/1) are a career high… Knocked down the first 3-pointer of his career vs. Arizona State (11/18)… Shot attempts from beyond the arc came vs. Arizona State (11/18), Long Beach State (11/30), at No. 24 Michigan (12/4) and at Fresno State (2/19)… Six successful free throw attempts at Brigham Young (11/12) and at Wyoming (2/28) were a season-high… Went to the line a career-high 12 times at Brigham Young (11/12)… Enjoyed five games in which he was perfect from the line, led by a 6-of-6 effort at Wyoming (2/28)… Six of his 15 career double-digit rebounding games came in 2021-22 led by a pair of 13 rebound games: vs. Saint Mary’s (12/17) and vs. San Jose State (2/25)… Snatched 11 boards vs. Long Beach State (11/30) and at Boise State (2/22), and had 10 vs. UC Riverside (11/9) and vs. Boise State (3/12) in the championship game of the Mountain West tournament… Equaled a career-high with seven offensive boards vs. Boise State (3/12) in the championship game of the Mountain West tournament… Pulled down a season-high nine defensive rebounds vs. UC Riverside (11/9), vs. Long Beach State (11/30) and vs. San Jose State (2/25)…Recorded a block in 30-of-32 appearance… Had at least two block in 22 contests (SDSU was 16-6 in those games)… Swatted a season-best five shots vs. Fresno State (3/10) in the quarterfinal of the Mountain West tournament… Also had four blocks vs. Georgetown (11/25), at UNLV (1/1), vs. New Mexico (1/31) and vs. Boise State (3/12) in the championship game of the Mountain West tournament… In games in which he had a minimum of three blocks, the Aztecs were 10-3… Dished out a season-high two assists in five games: vs. UC Riverside (11/9), Long Beach State (11/30), Cal State Fullerton (12/8), at Colorado State (2/4) and vs. Air Force (1/12), and the Aztecs went 4-1 in those games… Set a single-game career-high with five steals vs. New Mexico (1/31) and recorded multiple steals in five other games: vs. Long Beach (11/30), Cal State Fullerton (12/8), vs. Saint Mary’s (12/17), vs. No. 20 Colorado State, at Utah State (1/26) and at Fresno State (2/19) and in games in which he had multiple steals the Aztecs were 6-1… Playing double digit minutes in every game, he was on the court for a career-high 34:12 vs. Utah State (2/15).
 
As a Junior (2020-21 Season)
MW Rankings: No. 3 in blocks, No. 9 in offensive rebounds, No. 9 in rebounds, No. 14 in defensive rebounds
NCAA Rankings: No. 64 in blocks, No. 97 in blocks per game, No. 170 in rebounds, No. 251 in offensive rebounds per game, No. 314 in rebounds per game, No. 333 in double doubles
Honorable Mention All-Mountain West (coaches & media)… Mountain West All-Defensive Team… Dr. Jim Malik Academic Achievement Award… Aztec Scholar-Athlete… Appeared in all 28 games and started a career-high 27 times… Averaged 8.1 points and 6.1 rebounds in 21.4 minutes per game… Added 39 blocks, 16 assists and 16 steals in 600:30 of action… Shot 88-of-152 (57.9 percent) from the floor, and 51-of-85 (60.0 percent) from the line… Led the team in field goal percentage, offensive (56), defensive (114) and overall rebounds (170), and blocks (39)… Versus Syracuse (3/19), in the NCAA tournament, reached 100 career blocks equaling the 9^th most in program history… Among a career-best ten games in double figures, SDSU was 9-1 in those games, scored a career-high 18 points vs. Saint Mary’s (12/22) on 8-of-9 shooting from the floor… Recorded his fifth and sixth career double doubles with 17 points and a career-high 15 rebounds at Arizona State (12/10) and 18 points and 13 boards vs. Saint Mary’s (12/22)… Was one of three players in Div. I, to record at least 18 points, 13 rebounds and 6 blocks in a game during the season and among the three had the best shooting .889 (8-of-9 FGs) & free throw percentage 1.000 (2-of-2) in those games… Scored in double figures in the four games from Jan. 4 (vs. Colorado State) to Jan. 14 (at Utah State), the longest such streak in his college career, and his 55 points over that span (13.8 ppg) are the highest four-game output of his career… With three steals at Utah State (1/14) and vs. San Jose State (2/8) set a new career-best… Had nine games with multiple blocks including a career-high six vs. Saint Mary’s (12/22)… Had a streak of 11 straight games with at least one block, from Dec. 2, 2020 to Jan. 16, 2021, which equaled the longest such streak in his career… Had 12 games of at least five rebounds and 11 games of at least three offensive boards, including equaling a career-high seven offensive rebounds vs. San Jose State (2/8)… Led the team in rebounds ten times and SDSU was 8-2 in those games… His 44 total rebounds over the five games from Dec. 2 - Dec. 22 are the most in a five-game stretch in his college career… With 54 rebounds will become the seventh player in the Dutcher/Fisher era (since the start of the 1999-00 season) to score 500 points, grab 500 rebounds and block 100 shots as an Aztec… Was a career-best 6-of-6 from the line in the regular season finale at UNLV (3/3), the game in which the Aztecs won the Mountain West regular-season title… Against Nevada (1/7) went 8-of-10 from the line to establish single game career-bests in each category…. Set career-highs in field goals (88), free throws (51), defensive rebounds (114), steals (16) and points (227)… Played a season-high 27:57 vs. Nevada (1/9).

As a Sophomore (2019-20 Season)
Aztec Scholar-Athlete... Appeared in the team’s first 13 games, all as a starter, before an injury halted his season… Averaged 6.9 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 20.3 minutes per game… Added 10 steals and four assists in 264 total minutes… Shot 61.7 percent from the floor (37-of-60) which led the team, regardless of the number of games played… Despite playing just over a third of the season, led the team in total blocks (22) and rebounds per game… Twice, against Grand Canyon (11/13) and versus Utah (12/21) in the Basketball Hall of Fame Classic, scored a season-high 14 points… Lone double double of the season (12 points and 12 rebounds) came against San Jose State (12/8) where he also had a career-best four blocked shots… In addition to his 12 boards vs. SJSU, had two more double digit rebounding efforts with 11 each vs. Texas Southern (11/5) & at BYU (11/9)… Led the team in rebounds in six of the 13 games in which he played… Assists came at BYU (11/9), vs. LIU (11/22), at Colorado State (12/4) and San Jose State… Shot better than 50.0 percent in 10 of the 13 games in which he appeared… Against Grand Canyon (11/13), he was 7-of-8 (87.5 percent) from the floor for 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds with one assist… Played a season-high 25 minutes at Colorado State (12/4).

As a Freshman (2018-19 Season)
MW Rankings: No. 5 in blocks, No. 10 in offensive rebounds, No. 16 in rebounds
Aztec Scholar-Athlete... Appeared in all 34 games, earning starts in the final 20… Averaged 5.6 points and 5.5 rebounds in 18.9 minutes per game… Led the team with 39 blocks, had 20 assists and nine steals in 643 minutes… His 187 total rebounds and 39 blocks rank eighth and fourth, respectively, in SDSU’s Division I freshman history… After being inserted in the starting line up his scoring and rebounds increased to 6.1 and 5.9, respectively… Shot a team-high .541 (72-of-133) from the floor; the only player to shoot over .500 with a minimum of 100 shot attempts… Ranked second in total rebounds (187) and led the team with 80 offensive boards… Led the team in rebounding eight times… Recorded two double doubles… Had four double digit rebounding games and six double figure scoring games… Made his collegiate debut against Arkansas-Pine Bluff (11-6-18) grabbing three rebounds and scoring two points… Scored his first college bucket and finished 3-of-4 from the field against Texas Southern (11-14-18) where he finished with 11 points and a then season-high five rebounds and two blocks… In 14 minutes against Jackson State (11-27-18), grabbed a team-leading 11 boards, his first career double-digit rebounding game, and added five points and a block… In the next game, at Illinois State (12-1-18), had 10 rebounds including a then season-high four on the offensive end, and scored four points, had a block and a steal in 23 minutes…Scored a career-high 16 points on 7-of-7 shooting, equaling a Mountain West and Viejas Arena single-game field goal percentage record, and was 2-of-2 from the line against New Mexico (1-15-19) where he also contributed seven rebounds and an assist… Recorded his first career double double with 10 points and 10 rebounds against Utah State (2-9-19), made all four free throw attempts, went 3-of-6 from the field, set a season-high with three blocks and added two assists… Grabbed a team-leading eight rebounds, scored 10 points, with two blocks and one steal against Boise State (2-16-19)… Best game of the season came against San Jose State (3-2-19) with 13-points and a team-leading 11-rebound double double; he made 6-of-7 from the floor, had season-highs with four assists and three blocks and added a steal… Went 4-of-7 from the floor and 4-of-4 from the line in scoring 12 points versus Fresno State (3-6-19), where he also had a team-leading seven rebounds, one block and one steal.

High School
Attended Findlay Prep in Henderson, Nev.... Considered the 14th-best center nationally and a four-star signee by ESPN... Recruiting services Rivals and 247Sports listed him as a three-star player... Averaged 8.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocked shots in 2017-18 at for a 32-5 Findlay Prep team, according to MaxPreps... Helped the Pilots to a No. 26 national ranking... Prior to his time at Findlay, Mensah played at Prolific Prep in Napa, Calif., where he led the 2016-17 squad to a 29-2 record, a No. 13 national ranking and a No. 4 rating in the state of California, according to MaxPreps.

Personal
Earned a degree in business administration and is currently enrolled in a master's program in the same field.