When Thursday’s opening game rolls around for UCLA, three different players will be ready to step in and play one position. Whether it will be Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Alfred Aboya or James Keefe is still up in the air.
After Mbah a Moute sustained a sprained left ankle in Friday’s Pac-10 tournament semifinal matchup against USC, both Aboya and Keefe played significant minutes and helped the Bruins hold off the Trojans as well as capture the tournament title the next day against Stanford.
"The opportunity rose, and everyone had to step up," Keefe said. "You always have to be ready and be focused in practice just in case something like that happens."
Mbah a Moute will undergo treatment and hopes to practice today before the team heads to Anaheim.
The junior forward was no longer using crutches on Sunday, but he had his leg in a boot, which he said was precautionary and helped him walk by easing any stress on the heel of his foot.
"I’m pretty confident about coming back next week; I just don’t know when," Mbah a Moute said.
If Mbah a Moute is unable to return for Thursday’s game against Mississippi Valley State, Keefe will once again be ready to play significant minutes.
While Aboya would most likely fill in the starting spot for his fellow Cameroonian, Keefe and sophomore Nikola Dragovic could play more than their usual minutes to try to prevent UCLA from being the first ever No. 1 seed to be beaten by a 16-seed.
"This weekend I was able to play for more minutes at a time, and it was able to help me get comfortable with where I was," Keefe said. "The reason I came back (off my redshirt) was to help with the depth of the team. For us to go where we want to go, we have to be at full strength."
LOVE’S BACK: Kevin Love, the Pac-10 Player of the Year, was in visible distress during much of the Bruins’ 67-64 Pac-10 tournament win over Stanford, but he said his back was feeling much better the next morning after having iced it throughout the night.
When he got back on his feet and started walking around, however, Love felt some pain in the same area as he had during the game.
"I hope that a little extra rest and getting the finals done and out of the way will help me feel better," he said on Sunday. "Hopefully the TV timeouts will give me justice and I’ll be getting treatment throughout the game. It’s not really a concern for me because I can play through it."
On Selection Sunday, Love received a massage and electric stimulation on his injured area, and after meeting with the media he went to see what else team trainer Carrie Rubertino wanted him to do.
ALREADY SCOUTING: According to Howland, the assistant coaches had already begun studying film of the Bruins’ opponents and potential opponents. Each of the three coaches had been assigned to scout either Mississippi Valley State, BYU or Texas A&M, of which they had three, 11 and 27 tapes of, respectively.
DISSECTING THE COMMON OPPONENT: UCLA and Mississippi Valley State played just one common opponent this season ““ Washington State.
While UCLA posted a 2-0 record against the Cougars, the Delta Devils suffered a 71-26 loss in which they had just nine second-half points and were 0-15 from 3-point range.
"Washington State was not a good score for the opponent," Howland said with a smile. "Washington State played well. But we don’t want to be the first team in the history of the tournament to lose to a No. 16 seed as a No. 1 seed."
DRIBBLERS: While the rest of his team watched the Selection Sunday show together, junior Alfred Aboya was at a review session for one of his finals … Howland said he feels as if there are 12 to 14 teams in this year’s bracket that are capable of winning the title … UCLA is 14-2 against teams in the NCAA Tournament … Jerry Rice attended Mississippi Valley State before going on to becoming one of the leading receivers in NFL history.