It’s UCLA -- only banners get headlines

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute grew up in Cameroon mostly unaware of the NCAA basketball tournament and of UCLA’s historic accomplishment of 11 titles.

It has taken the sophomore forward two years to get what it means to be a UCLA basketball player.

“UCLA counts championships,” Mbah a Moute said Saturday night after the Bruins had been subdued by Florida in a 76-66 loss. “Having to fail before the final, it’s really hard. It’s almost like it outweighs all the success we had during the season.”

Mbah a Moute had stuffed himself deep into a locker at the Georgia Dome, with ice bags wrapped on both knees and his head in his hands.

As the Bruins progressed to the national championship game last year, Mbah a Moute became a national presence.

The 6-foot-8 forward had grown more aggressive offensively, was named Pacific 10 Conference freshman of the year and was causing talk that he might be good enough to leave for the NBA after this season. That talk has been stifled this season, same as the Bruins, but it showed Mbah a Moute how high expectations are for UCLA basketball.

“I need to work on everything,” Mbah a Moute said Saturday. “I need to work on my shot and my offensive moves. I need to work on my physicality.”

Mbah a Moute had two shots blocked by Florida on Saturday and missed a layup when he double pumped rather than jumping up and dunking.

Next season, he and his Cameroonian teammate Alfred Aboya may be the biggest beneficiaries of UCLA’s top recruit, Kevin Love. All season Coach Ben Howland has said that Aboya, also 6-8, is better suited to playing power forward than center. Love, a 6-foot-10 McDonald’s All-American, will make the center position a strength for the Bruins.

Whether Love starts immediately or backs up improving junior Lorenzo Mata at first, Aboya and Mbah a Moute may get the chance to play at more natural spots, power and small forward.

Whether guard Arron Afflalo, a first-team All-American and the Pac-10 player of the year, returns for his senior season or leaves for a chance to play in the NBA, most of the team understands that making the Final Four is not a triumphant season.

“Nothing short of winning it all is good enough,” sophomore point guard Darren Collison said.

They also understood that while they have become one of the best defensive teams in the country, when it mattered most the last two years, scoring was just too difficult.

“It’s not the system,” said Afflalo, who met his season scoring average with 17 points against Florida but who scored all 17 in the final, meaningless seven minutes of the game. “Whatever you think of our motion offense, if we run it well, if we all move, we get shots.”

Forward James Keefe and guard Russell Westbrook, UCLA’s two freshmen this season, did not have the immediate impact that Afflalo, Shipp, Mbah a Moute and Aboya had in their rookie seasons, but both showed sparks of future reliability.

Westbrook is never afraid to attack the basket and Saturday night he was one Bruin who wanted to play another game immediately. Keefe began to blossom in the NCAA tournament. His minutes weren’t many but against Florida, as Afflalo, Mbah a Moute and Mata acquired early fouls, Keefe came in and scored his earliest basket of the season, with less than four minutes gone. Keefe needs to be more muscular, and he said he was eager to start weight training.

After Saturday’s emotional loss, Afflalo seemed certain to consider playing his senior season. Most NBA draft prediction sites have Afflalo as no better than a late first-round pick and most have him in the second round.

The lure of playing with Love next season, of keeping intact a team that didn’t have a senior, appeals to Afflalo’s deep sense of responsibility.

“I have a lot of respect for my teammates, the coaching staff, the university that’s done a lot for me,” Afflalo said. “Sometimes you have to make sacrifices for some good things. Coming back next year is something I have to think about. But my sole purpose in coming to UCLA was to win a national championship. I’m still intent on doing that.”

diane.pucin@latimes.com

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EXPECT THEM BACK

Bruins’ prospects

How UCLA shapes up for the 2007-08 men’s basketball season:

* Expect them back -- Josh Shipp, forward, 13.3 ppg.; Darren Collison, guard, 12.7 ppg.; Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, forward, 7.4 rpg.; Lorenzo Mata, center, 5.4 rpg.; Alfred Aboya, center, 4.2 rpg.

* Incoming -- Kevin Love, center, winner of Naismith Award as best high school player; Chace Stanback, forward, Los Angeles City player of year.

* Outgoing -- None.

* Decision to make -- Arron Afflalo, guard, 16.9 ppg.

* Frontcourt -- Mbah a Moute didn’t make the offensive improvement many anticipated, and Bruins need more scoring from the trio of Mata, Mbah a Moute and Aboya. Freshman forward James Keefe showed offensive life at the end of the season and Love may be an instant starter. Rating: 7.

* Backcourt -- Collison stepped into the point guard role and was an immediate success. If Afflalo does not return, Shipp could play the Afflalo role and freshman Russell Westbrook is an offensive weapon waiting to be used. Rating: 8.

* Forecast -- With Love considered a special talent whose passing should help the interior offense even if Afflalo leaves, the Bruins should be picked to defend their Pacific 10 Conference title and will be expected to challenge for a third consecutive Final Four appearance.