On Aboya
I continue to hear it is less than a 50-50 chance junior Alfred Aboya will return next season because he wants to get on with his life. He is set to graduate in June, and UCLA coach Ben Howland said one of Aboya's options is law school.
However, there is something that could basically ensure Aboya returns next season.
“He still may not be able to finish the classes (this quarter)," Howland said. "If Alfred goes and plays for the national team (in Cameroon), he may not be able to do the classes in the summer, and then he would have to come back because graduation from college is the No. 1 priority for this young man.’’
That said, Howland added there are other factors at work.
“He has issues within his family,’’ Howland said. “For example, his dad is a diabetic. His mother had high blood pressure and they both need medications, and they cost significant amounts of money. So he has that, (which) is a stress on him, so there are a lot of things that are hard for these kids to know.
It must be tough for Howland these days not knowing if he may be loosing only 1 player or 6 (even more).
I must also say to those who complained Dohn was bias what do you think of the LA Times basically cheerfully telling the world almost the whole team was leaving (even if they had some facts wrong) and upsetting the key players who have to decide at the same time.
Sounds like Aboya has his head screwed on straight!
Who cares? In my opinion, Aboya isn't very good unless we are talking about his ability to foul. He isn't exactly a five star player. By the end, Keefe had passed him up in the rotation and Keefe wasn't exactly setting the world on fire except for one game against a bunch of small guys. If I were Howland, I'd rather free up the scholarship.
Pure class acts on our squads. Great for Alfred! I was upset we didn't use him more in the tourney, he's an intimidating defender who could have given our other guys a rest at the expense of a few fouls.
Biff, have you seen our frontcourt for next year? We need Alfred, pretty badly. Plus he is a killer defender; quicker than many guards but huge. He should do whatever he feels is right, but losing him would be a big blow for the team.
Wow..."Who cares??"..
in the midst of one and done players, kids don't giving a damn about actually coming to class let alone graduating, this story is really enlightening.
I hope Alfred can go on and be successful in whatever he pursues. I'm sure he wants to go back and apply his education for good use in his home country. Hope all's well for his folks, too.
Yes. I see your points. If Love leaves (which seems likely) and with Mata-Real gone, UCLA will need help in the front court and Aboya definitely should be commended for graduating early and, of course, one hopes for the best for him personally as well as for his parents. However, strictly from my hopeful future NCAA champion UCLA basketball perspective, Aboya isn't a player of the caliber I think they need to win the big one. In my opinion, he doesn't make good things happen when he is in the game. He fouls a lot, doesn't shoot well, and takes many shots I wish he wouldn't. If everyone were to return, I say, "Who cares", because he is not a player I would want to see in the game. To me, he is like Michael Fey and Brandon Loyd, who were guys I couldn't wait to see graduate so they could free up scholarships for potentially higher caliber players like Alex Stepheson, J'mison Morgan, and Taylor King.