Things are shaping up quite nicely for Shipp

When he dunked, Josh Shipp smiled. When he made a three-pointer, Shipp smiled. When he got a rebound or made a pass on the run, when he fumbled the ball out of bounds or missed a free throw, Shipp smiled.

UCLA doubters who point out the Bruins lost three starters -- Cedric Bozeman, Ryan Hollins and Jordan Farmar -- from last year’s national championship runners-up forget about Shipp.

The junior swingman with basketball instincts that can’t be taught and a can-do attitude that should not be overlooked missed all but four games last season because of a hip injury.

In the four games Shipp played, when he was in extreme pain and tried hard to hide his limp, he averaged 11.3 points and 4.8 assists, all against Pacific 10 Conference teams. He had 14 points at Arizona. One game later he tearfully ended his season and hoped to save his career.

“Having Josh back healthy is a huge addition,” junior Arron Afflalo said Tuesday evening at Pauley Pavilion after the Bruins had finished their one and only practice that’s open to the media.

It was a day to showcase progress.

Besides a healthy Shipp, the Bruins have a pain-free Alfred Aboya. The 6-foot-8, 235-pound sophomore was touted as the better of UCLA’s two recruits from Cameroon last year. And the other, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, ended up being the Pac-10 freshman of the year.

Aboya struggled his freshman season with an injured right knee. “I feel great now,” Aboya said Tuesday. “People are going to be surprised at what they see.”

Wearing the gold jerseys of starters in five-on-five drills were sophomore Darren Collison, who has inherited the point guard spot from Farmar and Afflalo, plus Shipp and Mbah a Moute at forward and Aboya at center. Coach Ben Howland let the starters play full speed and Collison promised, “We’re going to be running this year. A lot.”

That suits Shipp. “The game is a lot of fun when you’re running,” Shipp said. “But then just playing at all is a lot of fun.”

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Howland said freshman Russell Westbrook of Lawndale Leuzinger High, a late signee for the Bruins, had earned the backup point guard spot. “He’s been my biggest surprise,” Howland said.

Westbrook couldn’t play all out Tuesday. He was recuperating from a concussion suffered at practice last Thursday when he got hit in the nose. Howland said Westbrook might participate in a full practice today.

Also sidelined is junior center Lorenzo Mata, who is recovering from knee surgery he had three weeks ago. Mata, who rode a stationary bike on the sidelines, is hoping he can be ready for the season opener against Brigham Young on Nov. 15.

A third center, Ryan Wright, missed three days of practice because of a sprained ankle but is playing at full strength again.

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The NCAA has banned Division I schools from playing exhibition games against non-college traveling teams such as Athletes in Action and Marathon Oil. So UCLA opens its exhibition season Thursday at Pauley against Cal Poly Pomona, and plays a second exhibition Nov. 9 against Humboldt State.

Howland said he could have chosen two closed scrimmages instead of the exhibition games but he preferred to play “under the lights and in front of fans.”

diane.pucin@latimes.com