The Bruins were supposed to have been led by their star
sophomores, Jordan Farmar and Arron Afflalo, but it was the
unheralded freshman who made the biggest play of the year.
In the middle of a furious comeback against Gonzaga in the Sweet
16 of the NCAA Tournament, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute provided the
biggest basket of UCLA’s season, and followed that with the
biggest steal. Down 71-70 with 16 seconds to play, Farmar and
senior Cedric Bozeman stole the ball from Gonzaga’s J.P.
Batista. Farmar, knowing his long-armed freshman teammate was
beneath the basket, had the luxury of passing the ball far above
the reach of Batista, where Mbah a Moute could lay it in for what
would prove to be the winning points. After that, he had the
presence of mind to rush down the court to steal the ball from a
streaking Derek Raivio, who was intent on a layup.
That was just more of the same from a freshman who surprised
teammates and fans alike with his hard work and exceptional play
all season long.
He was the leading rebounder and fourth-leading scorer on a team
that made it within one game of a national championship. The
Cameroon native was in the lineup from day one, crashing the
boards, scoring on putbacks, and generally giving no reason for
coach Ben Howland to keep him out of the starting lineup. The
humble freshman did all of the effort plays expected from players
who are the last on the bench, not from a 6-foot-7 forward with a
huge wingspan and unlimited potential.
“The scary thing is, Luc doesn’t even know how good
he is,” Farmar said at the Final Four.
With Farmar and Afflalo possibly opting for the NBA draft, and
seniors Ryan Hollins and Bozeman graduating, Mbah a Moute will need
to assume more of a central role in the Bruin offense than he has
this year. He scored 8.2 points per game this year, mostly on
cleanup plays from errant shots, so he will have to improve his
game in terms of his jump shot, dribble penetration and his back to
the basket game. Judging from his ability to do everything asked of
him this year, that should not prove too difficult a task.