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Give that man a lei.
Congratulations to Bruin leader Arron Afflalo, who was just named the Pac-10 Player of the Year. This award is voted on by the Coaches of the Pac-10, but Ben Howland did NOT vote for Afflalo. Don't panic -- It's because he's not ALLOWED to vote for his own players. So a majority of the other 9 guys chose Arron. Doubtful if AA got Tim Floyd's vote, but there's no truth to the rumor that Floyd voted for his own Nick Young, based on Pete Carroll's insistence that usc owns the Pac-10, and that the rules don't apply to them.
Speaking of Nick Young, he was the only trojan to make the All-Conference Team, and when interviewed, he took the opportunity to show his trojan (lack of) class by slurring Afflalo. He said it was an honor to be on a team with guys like Marcus Williams and Aaron Brooks, purposely omitting Afflalo from the list.
Young didn't mention the other Bruin on the team either, Point Guard Darren Collison, who made the First Team in his first year as a starter. Also deserving mention are Josh Shipp and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, who received Honorable Mentions for getting some votes in the poll.
Afflalo has scored in double-figures for 29 straight games, but was only the Conference's 3rd-leading scorer with 17.2 points per game. However, AA vaults over the two above him based on Defense. Arron is the agreed-upon Best Defensive Player in the League, if not the Nation. Also, the fact that the Bruins won the Conference outright didn't hurt.
Speaking of Best in the Nation, the last time a Bruin won the P.O.Y. was 1995, when Ed O'Bannon snatched it while leading UCLA to the National Championship. Pretty good omen, huh? Yes, but no guarantee: Three other Bruins have won the Award: Marques Johnson (in '77), David Greenwood (twice), and Kenny Fields, but none put up a banner in those years.
One thing seems certain after the Washington debacle: AA's unit won't be adding a banner either, unless AA2 (Alfred Aboya) is healthy.
Below are 4 photos of this week's honorees. And as for those rumors about AA & DC not getting along, we say BS. Wake up and smell the High 5 below. Of course we have no inside info, and are just using "wishful writing," so take it for what it's worth (nothing).
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