Early last week, UCLA coach Ben Howland wondered aloud whether Luc Richard Mbah a Moute would have the necessary conditioning to play extended minutes against USC on Sunday after sitting out the previous week with an ankle injury.
The injury, suffered two weeks ago against Arizona, kept the junior forward from doing running drills and, until a few days before the game, also kept him from doing any cutting drills.
But for 33 minutes in UCLA’s 56-46 victory over USC at the Galen Center, Mbah a Moute was active and effective, recording a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
And he was just a little sore after the game.
“I still have some pain with the ankle,” Mbah a Moute said while propped up against a wall in a narrow hallway within the Galen Center.
“The trainer told me I’m going to have some pain for a week or something like that. You know, it’s nothing I can do except play through it and get treatment.”
While his jump shot appeared as shaky as it has all season, Mbah a Moute was active on the glass and, perhaps more importantly, was also effective defensively, switching between both Davon Jefferson and O.J. Mayo, helping to hold those two to a combined eight points on 25 percent shooting.
Howland was also impressed with Mbah a Moute’s play.
“It was great having Luc back,” Howland said.
“Luc was a huge boost for us. Even though he’s not playing at full strength … having him out there and doing the things he does for us was key.”
Howland also acknowledged that he was surprised with how much he got out of Mbah a Moute on Sunday.
“In terms of his minutes, yeah (I was surprised),” Howland said. “There’s no question that Luc’s minutes were huge. He’s playing with pain in his ankle, and you can see his conditioning affected his shooting and foul shooting.”
Mbah a Moute was 0-2 from the free-throw line.
SHOELESS DARREN: About halfway through the second half, point guard Darren Collison had to be pulled from the game for about a minute due to what announcer Petros Papadakis called a “uniform malfunction.”
Collison’s shoe split along the bottom, but, luckily for the Bruins, who were still in a hotly contested game, a nonplayer saved the day.
“I’m just glad our manager, Iain MacMillan, was right on the job to run in (to the locker room to get an extra shoe),” Howland said. “He figured it out quick. Everybody matters. Iain did a great job. He’s our senior, our team captain manager.”
ROLL TO REDSHIRT: Guard Michael Roll, who has been out with plantar fasciitis, will likely redshirt, Howland said, “barring an unforeseen miracle.”
Roll is still eligible to redshirt, having played in only six games this season.
FANS OF A DIFFERENT COLOR: USC’s players wore black uniforms on Sunday, and despite the mandate from the USC administration to its fans to “black out” the Galen Center on Sunday, USC football coach Pete Carroll wore an all-white long-sleeve sweater, and former USC quarterback Matt Leinart sat courtside in a beige jacket.