Yves Mekongo

Classroom

Mekongo carries a 3.80 grade point average as an integrated science, business and technology major at La Salle.  He was named to the 2009 CoSIDA/ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America second-team as a junior and the CoSIDA Academic All-District II first-team.  Also in 2008-09, Mekongo was named to the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) AAA National Academic All-America team, the Academic All-Atlantic 10 team and the Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area team.  As a sophomore, he was named to the NACDA National Scholar-Athlete team, the Atlantic 10 Academic All-Conference team and the Philadelphia Inquirer All-Area team.  Mekong has been a member of the Atlantic 10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll an impressive six times.

Character

La Salle head coach Dr. John Giannini states “Yves is a driven individual with a seldom matched work ethic in the classroom and on the court.  His character is truly impeccable as he makes mature, value-based decisions in his personal life.  He has overcome many obstacles in his life, leaving his home, family and friends in his native Cameroon to take advantage of opportunities here.  When he initially came to the United States, he came to a high school that did not challenge him academically.  He had to transfer schools and lose eligibility and also suffered a significant knee injury.  His stay in our country started with great difficulty.  He overcame this to enroll at St. Patrick’s High School where he was the most outstanding student in his senior class and was named MVP of the New Jersey State Championship basketball team.  He leads by example and has been a highly-valued teammate who has helped our program improve every year he has been here.”

Community

Mekongo participated in numerous events as part of La Salle’s Project TEAMWORK.  He helped at nearby Logan Elementary School with clinics in 2008 and 2009.  Mekongo was involved with the Big 5 Cleanup in 2008, installing new backboards and a playground at Logan Elementary in 2008 and 2009, and a clinic at Pastorius Elementary School in 2009.

Competition

Mekongo averaged 10.4 points per game and 6.0 rebounds per game for 18-13 La Salle as a junior.  He led the team in free throw percentage at 77 percent and shot 45.2 percent from the field.  Mekongo started 60 straight games before a wrist injury sidelined him for a short period.  His sophomore season, Mekongo averaged 8.3 points per game and 6.0 rebounds per game.  This complements the 8.2 points per game and 5.6 rebounds per game he averaged as a freshman.  In his career, he has started 81 of 85 games and has 750 points for an 8.8 points per game average.