[Basketball Preview]: Q&A with Alfred Aboya

The Daily Bruin’s Ajaybir Behniwal sat down with
sophomore

center Alfred Aboya to discuss everything from life in the
U.S. to his future ambitions, and everything in between.

Daily Bruin: In what ways do you feel
like you’ve improved the most since last season to give Coach
Howland more faith in you coming off the bench?

Alfred Aboya: Improvement is about repetition.
When you get the chance to practice and be active with your
teammates, it helps you and it helps them. You help each other
become a better player.

DB: When you first came to the U.S.
you wanted to go to Georgetown. What made you change your mind and
decide to come here to UCLA?

AA: Definitely the visit. When I visited the
school, I had a different feeling, and I felt that this is the
place for me ““ a place where I can be successful, where I can
have an impact both on the basketball court and academically.

DB: What are the differences between
Cameroon and the United States?

AA: It’s a lot different. First of all,
they’re two opposite countries. The people are different too.
Growing up, I learned different values that are not shared by
American people.

DB: What do you miss the most about
home?

AA: Food. Family. I actually say family first,
food second.

DB: Has your family ever gotten the
chance to come to L.A. to visit you or watch you play
basketball?

AA: No. (But) they had a chance to watch me
play last year in the NCAA Tournament, (which) was televised so
they had a chance to see me play for the first time.

DB: How often do you get to go back
and visit your hometown, and have there been noticeable changes
since you first left?

AA: Hopefully I’m going this summer. I
went there two years ago. That’s two years I haven’t
seen my family, so it will be exciting and a good thing, going
back.

DB: You’ve said that you want to
be the president of Cameroon. When did that become something you
saw yourself seriously pursuing?

AA: I feel like I need to change my country. My
country is politically stable, but I feel like there is a lot that
still needs to be changed and I feel like I’m the person to
do that.

DB: What would be some of the major
issues you would address and try to push for if you were to become
the president of Cameroon today?

AA: Security, first of all. People come from
everywhere and that raises the crime in the urban areas. And
corruption is a main thing that needs to be changed. Corruption has
slowed down the progress.

DB: People who run into you on campus
would describe you as laid-back and humorous. How would you
describe your personality and where do you think that has come
from?

AA: I don’t know. I guess I was born like
that. I don’t change. I’ve been the same person since I
was a little kid. Life is too short to be stressed about little
things. You just have to be laid-back and enjoy every moment that
you live.

DB: How many languages do you speak
and which ones?

AA: The main ones are French, English and
German. And in Cameroon we have a lot of dialects and I speak a
bunch of them.

DB: A lot of your teammates say you
rap in French. Can you give an example?

AA: I don’t think that’s me.
That’s Luc (Richard Mbah a Moute). Luc’s the
rapper.