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UCLA men’s basketball coach Ben Howland will look to repeat last year’s success with

What a difference a year makes.

At this time last season, the Bruins’ basketball team was a relatively unproven bunch.

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute was still an unknown name, and major contributors Josh Shipp and Alfred Aboya were sidelined with injuries.

This year, not only is Mbah a Moute being featured on preseason all-America lists, but also, UCLA is coming off a Final Four appearance, and all the Bruins except junior center Lorenzo Mata are fully healthy.

“It’s extremely nice to almost have a full squad out there,” said coach Ben Howland. “We can get our guys going early, and get the season off to a good start.”

The 2006-2007 season will be Howland’s first with all of his own recruits, and there certainly has not been this much optimism around the UCLA basketball program since the days of Ed O’Bannon and Tyus Edney.

The team has already held a live scrimmage for just students last Sunday, and on Tuesday Howland opened up practice to the media for the first time during his UCLA tenure.

Howland realizes that, with almost all of the Bruins returning, this is a special time for the program.

“Our guys realize that we have a unique opportunity,” Howland said. “We had an exceptional run last season, and we want to keep that momentum going.”

Howland should have a good chance of that, especially with the veteran presence of junior guard Arron Afflalo and sophomore Shipp, who know they are the leaders of this year’s young Bruin squad.

On Tuesday, both players were seen playing with a calm sense of confidence, knowing that the younger players will be following their example.

“With my experience and my minutes, I know I am the elder statesman of the team,” Afflalo said. “I have to give it all out on the court because I know the younger guys will be looking up to me.”

The younger guys that Afflalo will be helping are a combination of freshmen point guard Russell Westbrook, power forward James Keefe and European import Nikola Dragovic. All three players have been making significant improvement since the Bruins started practicing in September.

“They have all been pleasant surprises, especially Russell,” Howland said. “His composure with the ball and his knowledge of the game has been extremely pleasing.”

Westbrook in particular will have the difficult responsibility of being the No. 2 point guard as a true freshman, just as his predecessor Darren Collison did before him.

Being doubted before as an undersized player at Leuzinger High School, Westbrook is not fazed by the challenge.

“I am actually extremely excited,” Westbrook said. “I’m looking forward to learning under Darren, and doing whatever I can to help our team.”

Unlike Westbrook, Keefe and Dragovic will have much slower transitions into the Bruins’ regular rotation. Keefe will be backing up last year’s Pac-10 Freshman of the Year Mbah a Moute, while Dragovic is slated behind Shipp and Keefe at the small forward position.

“It’s been a difficult transition, having to go up against Shipp and Mbah a Moute on a daily basis,” Keefe said. “But I’m confident that I can learn quickly, and get out there.”

Howland certainly feels that Keefe is ready for the challenge.

“He will be able to give us quality minutes at the forward position,” Howland said. “He has had excellent coaching, and is a very smart player on the court.”

Wherever the contributions come from, Howland still realizes that the Bruins’ success this season will ultimately lie with the players’ ability to play as a team, and Collison’s ability to fill the huge void left by Jordan Farmar’s departure to the NBA.

“Every guy has to play their role, and we’ll be fine,” Howland said. “The more contributions we get from everyone, the better we’ll be.”

MATA STILL OUT: Mata, who underwent surgery on his right knee on Oct. 12, is still a few weeks away from being able to practice, and Howland is hoping that the junior center may be ready for the team’s regular season opener on Nov. 15.

“He is getting better physically,” Howland said. “He no longer has a knee brace, and he has been taking part in individual drills.”

Mata has been unable to practice all summer as he has undergone two surgeries on his knee.

WESTBROOK RETURNING: Westbrook suffered a mild concussion last Wednesday, and has been held out of physical contact for the past week.

Howland said, however, that he expects Westbrook to practice in all drills today, and be ready for Thursday’s game against Cal Poly Pomona.

DRIBBLERS: Sophomore Ryan Wright was held out of practice for three days last week with an injured ankle, but returned to practice on Tuesday and should be fine for Thursday’s game. The NCAA outlawed Division I teams such as UCLA playing against talent teams like EA Sports All-Stars, so UCLA is playing against two Division III teams in its two exhibition games.

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