Lorenzo Mata Interview
Part 1
On any given Thursday or Saturday during basketball season, a group of Bruin fans will ritualistically scream out “Mataaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!” reminiscent of the “Wasuuuuuup” commercials that dominated the TV landscape some years back. These fans are saluting one of the most recognizable faces in Bruin Basketball history, the big man from Southgate, Senior Center Lorenzo Mata. Lo arrived at UCLA as a member of one of the nation’s top-ranked recruiting classes which included: 2006 NBA 1st-round pick Jordan Farmar, 2007 All- American Arron Afflalo and the multi-talented Josh Shipp. In his first 3 seasons in Westwood, Lo has been an integral part of teams that won 2 Pac-10 Championships in a row and made 3-straight tournament appearances, including 2-straight Final Fours. We caught up with Lo to discuss his preparation for his Senior season, comparisons to NBA forward Ben Wallace and his love for the fans, just as long as you don’t interfere with his meal.
Part 2
In part 2 of our 3 part discussion, Mata gives us the “Lo”-down on the toughest competition that he’s faced thus far in his career, which include Tito’s son and the legendary former Wildcat whose wet-ball was the envy of many a T-Loc. He also talks about the significance of some of the new ink that can be found on nearly every visible area of his body and his desire to be more of a beast on the hardwood.
Part 3
In our Quick-Hitters section, we hit up Lo on a variety of topics including his favorite luxury automobile, Thinking Outside the Bun, and his favorite “7th Heaven” cast member, which, unless you've been living in a world that lacks any form of television or print media, is an obvious no-brainer.