Aboya comes through with clutch performance
By Daily Bruin Staff
Jan. 21, 2007 9:00 p.m.
It was as though he’d been there before.
With the game still on the line, No. 11 Arizona fouled Alfred Aboya, hoping that he would miss from the free-throw line.
The fans in Pauley Pavilion let out a gasp, wincing at the fact that the big man would be the one at the line in such a crucial stage of the game.
“The last couple of days we put an emphasis of foul shooting in practice,” Aboya said. “When I was standing on the foul line, all I was thinking about was practice, because I was making them during practice.”
It worked. The sophomore remained calm and sank both free throws with relative ease, extending the No. 3 Bruins’ lead and sealing the deal against the Wildcats.
After noticing a major flaw in Aboya’s free-throw routine, UCLA coach Ben Howland suggested a change during the week prior to the game, and it was tested almost immediately.
“I took a long time before, but now it’s more quick,” Aboya said. “Two dribbles, a quick pause, and then shoot it. I guess it worked.”
It wasn’t just free throws that Aboya contributed for the Bruins on Saturday as they remain atop the Pac-10 ““ his rebounds and his defense propelled the team as well. Aboya had six points and 11 rebounds on the game.
Making the first start of his UCLA tenure in place of fellow sophomore Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, the Cameroon native came out with a fiery attitude and looked to make immediate contributions. However, Aboya didn’t take into account the pace of the game and quickly grew tired.
“Early in the game today he came out and, because he normally doesn’t start, the adrenaline got to him,” Howland said. “He was a little out of gas after about four minutes.”
But Aboya quickly refueled on the bench and came back and grabbed several offensive rebounds while containing Ivan Radenovic on the other end of the court.
The sophomore also found himself on the wrong end of two physical plays, first getting bloodied by Radenovic while going up for a shot and then attempting to take a charge, but getting elbowed in the eye instead.
His play was apparently unaffected, as he continued to lead the Bruins toward their third straight victory since a loss at Oregon. However, Aboya feels he still needs to work on several aspects of his game before he is at the level he would like to be on.
“I have to finish layups,” Aboya said. “Those are baskets that you have to make. I just need to slow down and get myself together and put the ball in the basket.”
MBAH A MOUTE STATUS: Mbah a Moute, who did not play Saturday, is still unsure whether he will play against Stanford and Cal in UCLA’s next two games. But the sophomore forward is optimistic about the state of his knee.
“It feels good and I’m going to keep working on it and hopefully get better every day,” Mbah a Moute said.
Mbah a Moute began riding an elliptical bike on Friday. Howland said it should not be a long-term injury.
RPI BATTLE: Both Arizona and UCLA have some of the highest rankings in the most recent RPI, and Howland continues to insist that the Pac-10 is the most elite conference in the nation as can be seen by the RPI rankings.
Arizona will now face Arizona State before taking on No. 4 North Carolina, a matchup in which Howland has a clear-cut choice for the winner.
“That’ll be not only a big game for them, but for our conference,” Howland said. “Go Wildcats.”
