Bruins have force in Luc

There is a hop in his step, an insouciant unconcern in the way he throws himself onto the floor to corral a loose ball. All of a sudden, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute has become UCLA’s postseason secret weapon.

As third-ranked UCLA (28-3) fought back from double-digit deficits last week against both Stanford and California to finish off a Pacific 10 Conference regular-season championship, Bruins point guard Darren Collison noticed something.

“Luc’s the real reason why we are winning these games,” Collison said. “Everybody’s talking about Kevin [Love], myself, Russell [Westbrook], Josh [Shipp], but Luc’s the real reason. He doesn’t get double-doubles those last two games? We don’t win.

“If Luc’s playing the way he’s playing, I don’t see a team that’s going to beat us in the tournament.”

The top-seeded Bruins begin the postseason this afternoon at Staples Center with their first game in the Pacific 10 Conference tournament. UCLA will play California, which defeated Washington, 84-81, on Wednesday.

It’s not as though Mbah a Moute, a 6-foot-8, 230-pound junior forward, is an unknown player. That’s what he was two years ago when he was chosen conference freshman of the year and drew rave reviews for his offensive rebounding energy and his defensive perseverance.

But he has struggled with various injuries the last two years. After averaging 9.1 points and 8.2 rebounds a game as a freshman, his numbers dropped to 8.2 points and 7.4 rebounds last season. This season, he is averaging nine points and 5.6 rebounds.

Mbah a Moute, 21, is still a relative neophyte when it comes to basketball. He didn’t seriously play until he was 15.

He was into soccer and handball, sports more popular than basketball in his native Cameroon, and only picked up some desire for basketball because his older brother was playing. His father, Camille Moute a Bidias, a Cameroonian diplomat who traveled internationally, would bring home videotapes of the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls. Those tapes fed Mbah a Moute’s passion.

“I was fascinated,” Mbah a Moute said. “I started watching those videos of Michael Jordan and the sport seemed so different. I had never experienced something as beautiful like that.”

Mbah a Moute has eight siblings -- five brothers, three sisters -- and he and an older brother cut the bottom of a basket, nailed the basket onto a wooden stick and propped the stick against a wall of the family home. It wasn’t a peach basket and the ghost of Dr. James Naismith didn’t appear, but every day Luc watched the videotapes of Jordan and tried to copy what he saw.

UCLA assistant coach Scott Garson says he is fascinated by the way Mbah a Moute can follow the path of a rebound. “He has a nose for the ball, where to be,” Garson said. “It’s a natural sense and he just has a real feel.”

In the Bruins’ 77-67 overtime win over Stanford last Thursday, Mbah a Moute had 10 points and 11 rebounds. His putback of a miss by Love with 51 seconds left in regulation drew the Bruins within three points, and his dunk to start overtime ignited UCLA in the final five minutes.

In UCLA’s 81-80 win over Cal on Saturday, Mbah a Moute had 12 points and 10 rebounds. His putback of another Love miss with 1:27 left drew the Bruins within two points.

Mbah a Moute outrebounded Love in both games, the first time this season someone other than Love was the leading rebounder two games in a row.

“I think Luc is a lot more motivated,” Love said. “Come crunch time, some people step up their games. He’s 100% healthy and his girlfriend was here last week, too, so I think that gave Luc a little bit of extra incentive.”

Love was kidding about Mbah a Moute’s girlfriend but the health issue is important.

Mbah a Moute struggled last season with knee tendinitis and missed nearly three weeks of this season after suffering first a concussion and then a badly sprained ankle.

“I am definitely feeling healthier,” Mbah a Moute said. “I’ve had a tough time getting injuries the last couple of years. It might not seem like it, but you lose some stuff, you get a step slower with all these little injuries. The last couple of games, for the first time in a long time, I feel back to 100% physically.

“It’s not just rebounds, it’s getting steals and doing all those little things to make a team win that I did my freshman year.”

Mbah a Moute came to the U.S. five years ago to learn basketball at Monteverde Academy in Florida. Leaving home was both difficult and easy.

“I would have left home to go to college anyway,” Mbah a Moute said. “But when I fell in love with basketball, this decision became clear. All of a sudden I knew exactly what I wanted from life. I learned the game pretty much by myself. My goals are quite reachable now. I want to win a national championship, I want to become a professional player and win a championship with an NBA team, and then I want to go home and work for the government.”

Mbah a Moute said he would talk to his father and the UCLA coaching staff after this season about his next basketball step. His jump shot is still a work in progress. He made a game-winning three-pointer to beat Michigan State early this season, but he is five for 25 from three-point range.

“Luc can shoot outside,” Collison said. “If teams want to play off him, I’m sorry for them because Luc will hit.”

Shipp said he’s noticed something new about Mbah a Moute. “He has a little fire in him. He’s moving around, staying active,” Shipp said. “He’s not standing around and watching.”

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diane.pucin@latimes.com