Afflalo nets top Pac-10 honor
Every morning, Arron Afflalo walks into the men’s basketball office to meet with the Bruin coaches.
On Monday morning, Afflalo received some special news; he had just been named the Pac-10 Player of the Year.
For the ultimate selfless player, Afflalo was finally honored for his excellent junior season in which he averaged 17.2 points per game and led the Bruins to a 26-4 record.
And after years of the conference award going to the Pac-10’s leading scorer, the Pac-10 coaches this season finally appreciated the overall excellence of Afflalo.
“This award means a lot to me,” Afflalo said. “People took into account my defense and overall leadership qualities.
“I would like to be defined as a person who can flourish in any situation for my overall game.”
Afflalo was the first Bruin to win the award since Ed O’Bannon in 1995, and is one of five Bruins ever to be given the award.
And after being named to the All-Pac-10 freshman team and then to the All-Pac-10 team in his last two years, being named the Pac-10 Player of the Year was the culmination for Afflalo.
“I appreciate the award, because I know how much hard work I put into it,” Afflalo said. “It’s nice to see the success of our team and my contributions being recognized.”
The man who first recruited Afflalo, coach Ben Howland, knew Afflalo was special from the first time he met him and had nothing but praise for his team captain on Monday.
“He has a great mentality, very driven,” Howland said. “He’s a winner and wants to be the best.
“The No. 1 thing that a Player of the Year does is make his team win, and he’s been a mainstay, leading us to two Pac-10 regular-season titles in a row.”
Besides Afflalo, senior Oregon guard Aaron Brooks was also considered a leading candidate for the award.
Brooks led the Pac-10 in scoring this season at 18.0 points per game and hit multiple game-winners, including an 18-foot jumper that beat the Bruins in early January.
“Aaron Brooks had great stats and helped his team improve from the last two seasons,” Afflalo said. “I thought he, as well as many other players, were well-deserving.”
In the end, however, the Pac-10 coaches valued the leadership Afflalo brought to the Bruins, and the value that Afflalo put on the defensive side of the ball.
Most importantly, as Howland said, Afflalo made the Bruins a winner and helped the Bruins secure two consecutive Pac-10 titles.
“(My game) is an example of everything, my character, my work ethic,” Afflalo said. “If you have a love for the game, you have to love everything about the game.
“To understand how important everything else (other than scoring) is, is what separates players and teams from the rest.”
And on Monday, it was Afflalo’s overall game that separated him from the rest of the Pac-10.
COLLISON HONORED: In addition to Afflalo, sophomore point guard Darren Collison was named to the All-Pac-10 team Monday.
Collison, who leads the Bruins with 6.0 assists per game, is averaging 12.4 points and 2.2 steals in his first year as the Bruins’ starting point guard.
“That’s tremendous for Darren (to be named),” Afflalo said. “He has done a great job of stepping up as a leader and point guard. Hopefully, he will only get better.”
UCLA was the only team other than Washington State to have two players named to the All-Pac-10 team, and sophomores Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Josh Shipp were given honorable mention.
Washington State coach Tony Bennett was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year, while Arizona forward Chase Budinger was named Pac-10 Freshman of the Year.
Only one senior was named to the All-Pac-10 team, the fewest ever for the Pac-10 Conference.
DRIBBLERS: Coach Howland, who talked to the team doctor over the weekend, said he anticipates sophomore center Alfred Aboya to be ready to play on Thursday. Aboya is expected to practice limited minutes today.
The Bruins dropped to No. 4 in the AP Poll and No. 3 in the Coaches Poll following their loss to the Huskies on Saturday.
[More at www.dailybruin.ucla.edu]
