Mavs center out for season

[Emerson1]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2758873

Knee injury to sideline Mavs' Mbenga for season
Associated Press

DALLAS -- Dallas Mavericks center DJ Mbenga will miss the rest of the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, the team said Thursday.

Mbenga's injury came in the fourth quarter Wednesday against Memphis and the early diagnosis was a strained knee. An MRI on Thursday revealed the ligament tear. He is scheduled for surgery in two weeks, and there is no timetable for his return.

Mbenga played in 21 games this season, averaging nearly four minutes, 0.8 points and 0.5 rebounds.

The Mavericks on Thursday also recalled forward Pops Mensah-Bonsu from the Fort Worth Flyers of the NBA D-League. Mensah-Bonsu is averaging 15.2 points, 11.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 19 games for the Flyers.

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press



Not sure if he will be a maverick after this season. He is one of the best physical specimens in the league, but his play hasn't improved much at all.

[Emerson1]

His story is pretty amazing


Didier Mbenga lived in Congo for seventeen years as the son of a family involved in the Congolese government. When his father's term was over, the new regime hunted down everyone who worked for the previous leaders. His father died in unknown circumstances and it is unclear if the new regime were the ones behind it. During the war between the Tutsis and the Hutus Didier was falsely accused of being Tutsi and was put in a prison with execution waiting on him in the long run. In the year 1999, after a whole nine months being heavily mistreated in prison, Didier managed to escape after his brother bribed one of the prison guards. Fearing for their lives, Didier and his mother got on a flight out of Congo as soon as possible. The first available flight lead him to Belgium where they were given political asylum. Later on, he would also pick up the Belgian nationality.
Once in Belgium, Didier stayed at an asylum center in the town of Kapellen, where he was spotted on the streets by former Belgian basketball legend Willy Steveniers. Impressed by his physical appearance, he offered to teach Didier the game of basketball. In the time to come, Steveniers would serve as Didier's personal basketball mentor as well as substitute father.
The duo's dream of Didier once playing in the NBA became reality in 2004, when he joined the Dallas Mavericks after spending a few years in various Belgian basketball leagues.