For the first time in his life, senior center Alfred Aboya’s parents got to see him play basketball.
His father and mother, Baliaba Aboya Casimir and Kedi Kofane Angele, made the 27-hour trip from Cameroon for their son’s final two games at Pauley Pavilion. It was their first time in America, and it was something special as his parents had never seen him play basketball in his life.
“It felt different,” Aboya said, “even to my game preparation today. It definitely affected my game routine. When the game started, I was kind of anxious. I wanted to play well in front of them.”
Aboya found foul trouble early and sat for 11 minutes in the first half with two fouls. Fortunately for Aboya, whose parents speak French, they haven’t yet learned the rules of the game.
“I’ll tell them I played great,” he said.
After going into the break without a point or a rebound, Aboya found his game in the second half. He posted nine points and pulled down three points.
Afterwards, Aboya was asked which side of the family he got his athleticism from.
“My mom’s side ““ my grandma is like 6 feet 8 inches,” Aboya said, drawing laughs from the media and his teammates. “No, I’m not kidding.”
On Saturday, Aboya plans on walking with his parents to center court in the pre-game ceremony for the senior class, which includes guards Darren Collison and Josh Shipp.
“I don’t want to think about it because it’s something you can’t prepare for,” he said.
Coach Ben Howland was able to meet Aboya’s parents for the first time and spoke with them on Wednesday about what their son has meant to him and the UCLA program. The only problem was that they don’t share a common language, leaving Alfred as the interpreter for an emotional conversation.
“I was trying to tell his parents how much I love Alfred and how proud I am,” Howland said. “It was hard for Alfred to express that from me to his parents.”
Finding another interpreter would be okay for Aboya, whose modest character left him struggling to find the right way to express Howland’s thoughts.
“It’s definitely difficult to talk about yourself,” Aboya said. “When you have somebody complimenting you on what you meant to him, and you got to translate that to your parents, it’s an awkward situation.”
SHIPP DROPS CAREER HIGH: At halftime of Thursday night’s win at Pauley Pavilion, the scoreboard read: Oregon State 19, Josh Shipp 22.
It was one of the best halves of the season for the senior guard who finished with a career-high 27 of the night.
Shipp’s strong performance paced the Bruins early. During a four-minute stretch in the first half, Shipp scored 17 straight points, personally extending UCLA’s lead from nine to 20.
“I didn’t know until I got to the bench,” Shipp said. “I was just in attack mode and didn’t know how many points I had.”
“In high school I used to do it all the time,” he added. “It’s nothing new to me.”