Alfred Aboya

Give Alfred Aboya a chance to brag. Tell the UCLA center that he is emerging as a star. "I don't think so," he says. "It's a team deal." But with the 11th-ranked Bruins heading to Arizona State on Thursday, it's hard to ignore the numbers. In the last two weeks, Aboya has averaged 14.5 points and 7.8 rebounds, and ranks third in the Pacific 10 Conference with 59% shooting. "I just think he's a consummate winner," Arizona State Coach Herb Sendek said.

Better to have learned and lost than to never have learned at all? That could be UCLA's mantra after two defeats in New York that left Coach Ben Howland with plenty of teachable moments. Howland spent nearly three hours dissecting tape of the Bruins' loss to Virginia Commonwealth with his players, pointing out every rushed shot and defensive lapse. "Just the first half alone was an hour and a half," sophomore forward Tyler Honeycutt said Tuesday. Howland also dipped into the video archives, showing players some of his better defensive teams going into lockdown mode.

With a pregame ceremony that featured mothers and fathers and Coach Ben Howland giving hugs at midcourt, UCLA bid goodbye to its winningest class in school history. The designation is relative: During much of Coach John Wooden's heyday, seasons were shorter and freshmen ineligible. Still, the 20th-ranked Bruins' 94-68 victory over Oregon on Saturday added to impressive numbers that seniors Alfred Aboya, Darren Collison and Josh Shipp have amassed since arriving in Westwood.

It wasn't what UCLA seniors Darren Collison, Josh Shipp and Alfred Aboya had envisioned. Not sitting on the bench in the final disheartening moments of an 89-69 loss to Villanova in the second round of the NCAA tournament at the Wachovia Center. "It's obviously disappointing ending your career on a big down like this one," Aboya said. The trio leaves UCLA with more victories than any other class in school history. Shipp and Collison rank 12th and 16th, respectively, in scoring.

Chances are, Alfred Aboya will feel better today. The headache should be gone. The cramping too. When UCLA takes the court against Washington State at Pauley Pavilion, the 6-foot-9 center might even show some of his old spark. But that doesn't mean his coaches and teammates will forget what he endured for them this week. On Friday, Coach Ben Howland sounded amazed. "It's absolutely unbelievable how tough he is," Howland said.

UCLA Coach Ben Howland said that backup center Alfred Aboya, who sat out the Bruins' loss to Washington on Saturday because of a sore left knee, is expected to participate in practice today and play in UCLA's Pacific Life Pacific 10 Conference tournament opener against the winner of Wednesday's game between California and Oregon State. * Arron Afflalo has scored in double figures in 29 consecutive games and is the leading active scorer in the Pac-10 with 1,447 points. The junior guard is No.

A precautionary MRI exam has confirmed that UCLA center Alfred Aboya suffered no serious damage to his left wrist when he fell hard in a game against Southern Illinois on Friday night. The test, conducted in Los Angeles, showed no break in what team officials originally called a hand injury.

For a change, UCLA basketball Coach Ben Howland had good news about injuries Thursday. Alfred Aboya, the 6-foot-8, 233-pound freshman from Cameroon, has been cleared to practice and sophomore point guard Jordan Farmar's ankle injury still appears to be a sprain. Aboya, who had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in July and on the left in October, was expected to practice 50 minutes to an hour the next couple of days, Howland said. Aboya may even play in No.

Alfred Aboya sustained a fracture to the orbital floor of his right eye Friday night during UCLA's 81-47 victory over Yale at Pauley Pavilion, the school confirmed Saturday. A UCLA spokesman said the junior power forward would be evaluated Monday by a specialist and a determination would be made whether Aboya will need surgery to repair the bone that surrounds the eye.

The freshman from Cameroon was playing aggressively, snaring rebounds, getting a team-high point total and playing tough defense. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute? Not Saturday at Bank of America Arena ,where Mbah a Moute, UCLA's leading rebounder, spent all but three minutes in the first half against the Washington Huskies on the bench because of foul trouble.

With a pregame ceremony that featured mothers and fathers and Coach Ben Howland giving hugs at midcourt, UCLA bid goodbye to its winningest class in school history. The designation is relative: During much of Coach John Wooden's heyday, seasons were shorter and freshmen ineligible. Still, the 20th-ranked Bruins' 94-68 victory over Oregon on Saturday added to impressive numbers that seniors Alfred Aboya, Darren Collison and Josh Shipp have amassed since arriving in Westwood.

Almost five years have passed since Josh Shipp left high school, excited to get a scholarship to play at UCLA. "I still feel like I'm that little kid," he said. "Just came here when I was 18. Time flies when you're having fun, I guess." Today's matchup between the 20th-ranked Bruins and Oregon marks the final home game for Shipp and two other scholarship seniors, center Alfred Aboya and guard Darren Collison. There will be a ceremony introducing the players with their parents.

Chances are, Alfred Aboya will feel better today. The headache should be gone. The cramping too. When UCLA takes the court against Washington State at Pauley Pavilion, the 6-foot-9 center might even show some of his old spark. But that doesn't mean his coaches and teammates will forget what he endured for them this week. On Friday, Coach Ben Howland sounded amazed. "It's absolutely unbelievable how tough he is," Howland said.

Less than a month gone by and, already, the memory fades. "Seems like a long time ago," Michael Roll said. "I wasn't even thinking about it till you guys brought it up." Maybe the UCLA swingman and his teammates would rather not dwell on their loss to Arizona State at Pauley Pavilion last month. A game in which they fumbled away an 11-point lead. A game in which they staggered the last 8 minutes 14 seconds of regulation without a point before losing in overtime. "For whatever reason," center Alfred Aboya said, "we couldn't buy a basket."

Give Alfred Aboya a chance to brag. Tell the UCLA center that he is emerging as a star. "I don't think so," he says. "It's a team deal." But with the 11th-ranked Bruins heading to Arizona State on Thursday, it's hard to ignore the numbers. In the last two weeks, Aboya has averaged 14.5 points and 7.8 rebounds, and ranks third in the Pacific 10 Conference with 59% shooting. "I just think he's a consummate winner," Arizona State Coach Herb Sendek said.

Maybe the most important number in UCLA's basketball game against Notre Dame on Saturday had nothing to do with points or rebounds, polls or RPI rankings. Maybe it was 10. As in 10 o'clock in the morning -- the unusually early tipoff for a nationally televised game. Taking the court well before noon gave the 15th-ranked Bruins a big audience for their 89-63 victory over the Irish at Pauley Pavilion.

The scene has become as familiar at Pauley Pavilion as the appearance of the cheerleaders or the shot on the video board of John Wooden smiling from his seat. See the UCLA player grimace in pain. See the game stop. See Coach Ben Howland hold his breath. See the player helped off the court. See trainer Tony Spino treat the player on the bench. See the player disappear in the direction of the trainer's room. Seen enough?

Finally, after journeying from the African republic of Cameroon, after attending Tilton Prep Academy in New Hampshire, after being penciled into the starting lineup only to undergo arthroscopic surgery on both knees, 6-foot-8, 233-pound freshman forward Alfred Aboya made his UCLA debut Sunday against Coppin State, in the Bruins' seventh game. "I'm just happy to be here, after the two surgeries and months of rehab," Aboya said. "This was a very emotional game for me, my first college game."

It might be too early in the season to classify UCLA's game against California on Thursday as a must-win situation. But it feels that way to the players. Losing two of their last three, the 17th-ranked Bruins have fallen into a tie for second place in the Pacific 10, unfamiliar territory for a team with three consecutive conference titles. As freshman guard Jrue Holiday said: "Something needs to change." Last week's defeat at Washington prompted center Drew Gordon to question the team's heart.

There was no question that Alfred Aboya picked a bad time to receive the first technical foul of his career. The usually placid UCLA center acknowledged that he lost his cool in the heat of Saturday's 86-75 loss to Washington at Bank of America Arena. The Bruins were leading by three points and had stopped Washington on defense. But then Aboya leaned over fallen Huskies guard Venoy Overton. "I told him to stop flopping because he always flops," Aboya said. "And I tried to help him up."