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.