Players do it the hard way, as usual

The collision was teeth rattling. Alfred Aboya, 6 feet 9 and 245 pounds, had only one thing on his mind. Dunking the basketball. As Aboya lunged toward the basket, all of him off the ground, he ran smack into Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, who is 6-8 and 232 pounds. Mbah a Moute hit the floor hard. Aboya fell on top of Mbah a Moute.

And for a moment there was silence at Pauley Pavilion.

“We just wanted to see if Luc got up,” UCLA guard Darren Collison said.

Mbah a Moute quickly bounded upright. It was, said Lorenzo Mata-Real, like being at a wrestling match, waiting to see who bounced off the ropes. “I was about to start counting,” Mata-Real said.

Just another day at Ben Howland’s basketball practice. One day a year, the UCLA coach allows media to watch an entire workout. Monday was that day and there was no sanitizing of the physical play.

Everybody on the floor applauded when Mbah a Moute got up, and after practice, Howland said he wasn’t worried about Mbah a Moute’s health.

“I was happy to see him take the charge,” Howland said, though the coach did suggest he hoped Aboya might not be so “out of control” in future practice journeys toward the basket.

“I go hard against everybody,” said Aboya, who is a junior from the West African country of Cameroon, same as Mbah a Moute.

“Albert’s just tough,” said Mbah a Moute, who was icing various joints, muscles and bones after practice. “But so am I.”

It is Howland’s way to have his teams practice as hard as they play. Two days ago, freshman Kevin Love (bruised calf, scratched back), Mbah a Moute (woke up with a knot on his back), Mata-Real (sprained foot) and James Keefe (recovering from shoulder surgery) couldn’t practice all out. All four are centers or forwards, and when Howland was asked who practiced in the post, he answered, “We didn’t have anyone.”

“I think practice is more physical this year than ever,” Aboya said. “We’re all competitors, especially inside the paint.”

Love showed off the scratch marks on his back, still deep and red, even though the culprit got him last week. “Don’t know who did it,” Love said. Aboya (twice), Mbah a Moute and Mata-Real have each kneed Love in the same place on his left calf. “I don’t know why they get me there,” Love said. “It’s strange.”

After 10 days of practice, it’s junior swingman Josh Shipp -- who had off-season hip surgery -- who has been the healthiest. Shipp had a big grin when Mbah a Moute hit the ground, and a bigger one when the forward jumped up and bounced up and down on the balls of his feet. “Luc was just showing how tough he is,” Shipp said.

Getting universal raves from his teammates was Love, last year’s high school player of the year at Lake Oswego (Ore.) High. “Better than advertised,” Collison said.

“He learns everything really quickly,” Aboya said. “For a freshman, that’s not easy.”

Love was stumped by one question. He is wearing No. 42, which was retired in honor of Walt Hazzard. Hazzard gave Love permission to wear the number, but Love was asked to name the UCLA player who won three national titles while wearing No. 42. Love didn’t know but promised to find out.

According to UCLA sports information director Marc Dellins, the correct answer is Bob Webb, who played for John Wooden in 1971, 1972 and 1973.

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diane.pucin@latimes.com