Former UCLA point guard Darren Collison won NBA Western Conference Rookie of the Month honors for February after averaging 21.6 points, 8.3 assists and nearly two steals in the place of star guard Chris Paul, who is out with a knee injury.

The honor was not lost on UCLA head coach Ben Howland.

“That was great to see Darren win rookie of the month,” UCLA head coach Ben Howland said. “I just talked to Darren (Monday), not knowing they had a game last night – he had 15 assists. He’s playing great and what was nice, and I forgot who told me that, is ESPN did a great piece on him, about how his four years prepared him. There’s no question he’s helped himself as an NBA player.”