LYON (EuroBasket 2011) - When the FIBA Central Board make their decision in Lyon on whether or not to grant Great Britain an automatic place at the London 2012 Olympics, one set of ears will be very close and listening, waiting to hear of his team's fate.

Pops Mensah-Bonsu only last week moved to ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne looking to spark his career into life after having his latest NBA adventure cut short by the New Orleans Hornets.

He now resides in the very city where the FIBA meeting will be held March 12-13.

Great Britain born-and-bred, Mensah-Bonsu had a great college career at George Washington University and continues to dream of solidifying his place in the NBA but for now, he’s back in Europe where he’s been a success with clubs like Granada and DKV Joventut in Spain.

At his unveiling to the ASVEL media, Mensah-Bonsu didn't shy away from questions about being constantly on the move.

"Regarding the NBA, I haven't had any real good opportunities,” he said.

"In Europe, I've never had the desire to stay very long with one team/club. I've moved around quite a bit these past few years.

“Now I'm 27 and the time has come to settle down so I'm looking to find some stability."

Mensah-Bonsu told the fans what they could expect from him.

"I will bring what the (ASVEL) coach (Nordine Ghrib) wants," Mensah-Bonsu said.

"If he wants me to score I can, but if he wants me to focus more on defense, I will, too.

"I can play in positions four and five and I feel comfortable at both positions.

"I am ready to get rebounds and work on defense...

"I am ready to do what the coach asks me, the only thing I care about is winning."

On his debut on Saturday, Mensa-Bonsu had 27 points, 13 rebounds, three steals and a block as ASVEL beat defending champions Cholet, 89-77.

Playing for Brits

One thing that Mensah-Bonsu says he cherishes is the chance to wear his national team shirt.

No one would have disputed that last summer when he enjoyed arguably the best stretch of his career with Britain, leading them into EuroBasket 2011.

In eight games, he flat out dominated, averaging 19.3 points, 13.5 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1.3 blocks.

In an interview with FIBA.com, Mensah-Bonsu said: "I love playing for my national team and I'm always going to do it, probably until I stop playing altogether.

"I always have something to look forward to in the summer time with the national team.

"We've got a goal that we want to accomplish.

"We've got a couple of years until the Olympics but we have the EuroBasket coming up this year and we have high expectations, especially with the team that we can put together. I'm definitely looking forward to what we're going to do and surprising people."

Even with a healthy Luol Deng of the Chicago Bulls, Mensah-Bonsu, Ben Gordon of Detroit, Joel Freeland and Robert Archibald of Unicaja and Dan Clark of Estudiantes, it's going to be a big ask for Britain to be among the three sides to advance from a Group A that includes Spain, Turkey, hosts Lithuania, Poland and an additional qualifier.

Without Deng at EuroBasket 2009, Britain lost to Slovenia, Spain and Serbia and exited the tournament.

Great Britain did seem to take a step forward last summer, though, winning close games without some important Freeland, Archibald and Gordon.

The Brits nevertheless finished top of their group.

"We showed a lot of people what we could do with the way we won the group and pretty much the whole thing," Mensah-Bonsu said.

"We showed people what kind of level we can play on and what kind of team we can be.

"We didn't even have Ben Gordon but we will have him this summer.

"So it could be scary what we can do in the summer.

"I have high expectations for what we will do in Lithuania this summer and I'm definitely excited. Like I said, we're going to raise a few eyebrows and surprise a number of people."

The Gordon impact

Ben Gordon, who was born in London but moved to the United States at a young age, is a player that Great Britain have craved for a long time.

"He can play the point guard position, he's a scorer, he's a threat inside and outside," Mensah-Bonsu said.

"So we have somebody who opposing teams are going to have to focus on and that will take some of the pressure off of Luol (Deng) and myself.

"You need a good point guard and all of ours are pretty young and still learning the game and how to play the position.

"It's tough when you're trying to learn and produce at the same time. So with Ben, we have a veteran who can put the ball in the basket and run a team at the same time. He definitely helps put us in a good position to get a good shot every time."

While Mensah-Bonsu and Britain would love to hear that they will be granted a place at the Olympics as the host nation, the only thing the players can control are their performances on the court.

It's going to be tough in Lithuania for Great Britain.

Then again, it's going to be tough for the other 23 teams as well.

"I don't like to predict anything but as I said, I definitely feel like we're going to surprise people and we're going to do really well," Mensah-Bonsu said.

"I feel we have the ability, even with the team we had last year, but even more so with Ben on board to become that much better."

FIBA