It wouldn’t be fair to say that Luc Richard Mbah a Moute had been in a slump. While the junior still seems to be adjusting to spending most of his time at small forward rather than power forward, where he played the last two years, he’d been averaging 9.7 points and 5.3 rebounds per game heading into Thursday night’s game against Washington. Not spectacular stats, but certainly respectable.
Apparently, he doesn’t think that’s good enough.
Mbah a Moute appeared to take a major step forward on the offensive end against the Huskies Thursday night. He scored 17 points, 11 of those in the first half as the Bruins raced to an 18-point lead. Many of those points came on mid-range jump shots, which Mbah a Moute seemed to be shooting with much more confidence than in past games.
“I was just looking to be more aggressive,” Mbah a Moute said. “I haven’t been playing well. I mean, I’ve played all right, but I was frustrated these last couple of games. So I wanted to come out and play real well offensively.”
That aggression seemed to catch Washington by surprise. Heading into the game, the Bruin’s leading scorers had been freshman center Kevin Love and junior guard Josh Shipp.
Mbah a Moute figured the Huskies would prepare for the Bruins’ post and perimeter threats accordingly, and exploited openings in the Washington defense all game.
“I know they were going to come out and do anything they can to try and limit Kevin, Josh, and Darren (Collison),” he said. “I had to be aggressive and make sure I attacked the rim.”
Love, who finished with 11 points and 7 rebounds, wasn’t surprised by Mbah a Moute’s offensive outburst, and sees it as a testament to the Bruins’ collective ability.
“It’s huge for us,” Love said. “Really, any player on our team can have a game like that. Luc stepped up today and played a big game for us. He hit a bunch of shots, (and) he hit a huge shot for us in the first half when he had two defenders on him and hit a fadeaway jump shot. That kind of helped liven us up a little bit. He helped keep us up the whole game.”
Mbah a Moute also played well defensively. He started the game opposite Washington’s Ryan Appleby, a senior guard who had been averaging 12 points and shooting over 50 percent from 3-point range. Appleby did not score and often seemed overwhelmed when guarded by either Mbah a Moute or sophomore Russell Westbrook.
Coach Ben Howland was also pleased with Mbah a Moute’s shooting performance, but not particularly surprised. Over the summer he had worked with the forward extensively to shorten his shooting stroke.
“He worked so hard in the off-season, I’m really confident in him shooting the jump shot,” Howland said.
When asked to elaborate more on what he thought Mbah a Moute had done well, Howland ticked off a long list of positives.
“He got to the basket, attacked the rim, let things come to him, got second shots, made the midrange jumper,” Howland said. “(He) got to the line, (and) made all his foul shots.”
The night wasn’t without some downside, however. Sometime during the game Mbah a Moute injured his right knee, and is listed as having a contusion. Mbah a Moute isn’t quite sure what happened, but he expects to play on Saturday morning against Washington State.
“I think (the injury) was in the second half,” he said. “I remember a feeling of pain on my knee. I just kept playing through it. I could run, I just couldn’t bend very well. It’s just a contusion.”