Love wishes he could have helped this season

ATLANTA —  Ben Howland’s sales pitch to star recruit Kevin Love could have boiled down to three words: You complete me.

UCLA has reached a second consecutive Final Four without a dynamic big man whose offensive skills match his defensive prowess. Love, a 6-foot-10 forward from Lake Oswego (Ore.) High who will join the Bruins next season, fits that bill perfectly.

Love said this week that he wished he could have gone the route of USC freshman guard Daniel Hackett and joined UCLA a year early so he could help the Bruins combat Florida’s huge front line Saturday during a national semifinal at the Georgia Dome.

“I wish I was there right now,” Love said before competing in the McDonald’s All-American game in Louisville, Ky. “You have to have a little luck in the tournament, so I might not get to play in the Final Four.”

Love said UCLA has “a tough road against Florida right now.” He called Bruins 6-foot-9 junior center Lorenzo Mata “a great defender” but said the other Final Four teams “have a lot of size and a lot of firepower.”

Yet, Love dismissed the notion that UCLA sorely needed him, noting that the Bruins had reached the brink of a national title the last two years without him.

“That’s a tough act to follow,” Love said. “I’m trying to help them strive for a national championship if they don’t get it this year, but they’ve already done so much without me.”

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An anticipated family reunion involving Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and his father hit an undisclosed snag, leaving the sophomore forward to compete in a second consecutive Final Four without any family members from Cameroon in attendance.

Mbah a Moute had said after UCLA defeated Kansas in the West Regional final that his father, Camille Moute a Bidias, would travel to Atlanta “for sure” from his West African home to watch his son play basketball for the first time in person.

But UCLA spokesman Marc Dellins said Thursday that Mbah a Moute told him his father could not make the trip.

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The Bruins practiced at an undisclosed location in Atlanta on Thursday and are scheduled to conduct an open practice at 10 a.m. PDT today at the Georgia Dome. ... If UCLA defeats Florida on Saturday, the national championship game will be shown live Monday evening on big screens in Pauley Pavilion. ... Sophomore forward Alfred Aboya has been selected to represent UCLA at an NCAA national leadership conference May 27-31 in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. The conference provides student-athletes with an opportunity to discuss issues involving their campuses and communities. ... UCLA senior guard Noelle Quinn participated in the women’s three-point shooting contest Thursday in Atlanta as part of a skills exhibition.

ben.bolch@latimes.com