INDIANAPOLIS – UCLA is known as the royal palace of college basketball, but for the first time ever, the Bruins are being led by real, live royalty.
Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, No.23 in your UCLA program, the same number as his idol, Michael Jordan, is a prince in his home of Yaounde, Cameroon.
Unlike Eddie Murphy and the movie, “Coming To America,” Mbah a Moute didn’t come to find his bride, he came to find his game.
In fact, when a reporter asked Mbah a Moute about his fiancée, the startled freshman forward blurted out, “I have a fiancée?”
No, but he has great athleticism and is one of the reasons UCLA (32-6) will meet Florida (32-6) in tonight’s championship game.
Mbah a Moute scored a game-high 17 points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds in the Bruins’ 59-45 win over LSU in the semis.
He held LSU’s Glen “Big Baby” Davis to 14 points and seven rebounds.
The 6-7, 224-pound power forward has seen the movie starring Murphy and said he’s often been the butt of teammates’ locker-room jokes about him indeed coming to America.
But Mbah a Moute, who takes it all in stride, has a wonderful sense of humor.
When asked if he has currency that bears his own picture, Mbah a Moute said, “I’m not at that level yet.”
He’s certainly a money player, who started playing basketball on a court on the ranch of Florida forward Joakim Noah’s grandfather in Cameroon.
Mbah a Moute said he listens to Yannick Noah’s music.
Mbah a Moute gives as well as he gets.
He tells his teammates about one of his favorite delicacies, boa constrictor.
“You cook it like chicken,” he said. “But it tastes better than chicken.”
Mbah a Moute said the life of a prince isn’t very demanding. His father, Camille Moute a Bidias, is responsible for acting as the liaison between Yaounde and the government.
“My role is just to be the prince,” he said.