MBAH A MOUTE IS NBA'S MOST IMPRESSIVE ROOKIE

Derrick Rose, Michael Beasley, OJ Mayo, Kevin Love. Picking any of these players to win Rookie of the Year would seem fairly obvious. Of course everyone expects tons of points from Mayo, playing with the lowly Grizzlies, or Love putting up great stats on a bad Timberwolves team. But who would have thought that in a draft class this loaded, the most impressive rookie would be a second round pick who was far from the best player on his college team?

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, second round pick (37th overall) of the Milwaukee Bucks has been the most important rookie to his team so far this season. Mbah a Moute, a three year starter for UCLA, was the first player since current NBA teammate Charlie Bell to start in three straight Final Fours. The 6-8 forward from Cameroon was the 2006 Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, and hit the winning shot in a comeback victory for UCLA over Gonzaga in the Sweet Sixteen. So his success hasn't exactly come out of thin air. But in a draft class this stacked, few would have honestly believed Luc Richard Mbah a Moute would be able to help the Bucks so greatly.

In 11 games for Milwaukee, Mbah a Moute has three starts and is averaging 10.6 points per game. He is playing 30.4 minutes per night, and has been spectacular on the glass, pulling down 7.5 boards per game. On Friday night, Mbah a Moute scored 19 points and had 17 rebounds in the Bucks 101-96 win in Memphis. 10 of those 17 boards, by the way, came on the offensive end. Last night, with Milwaukee trailing 71-59 after three quarters to the World Champions, Mbah a Moute helped propel the Bucks to a huge fourth quarter and forced overtime against the Celts. The Cameroonian forward had 10 of his 14 points in that period, including a monster dunk (plus the foul) with 2:58 left that gave Milwaukee a one point lead. While the Bucks did eventually lose the game, it wouldn't have been close without the efforts of the rookie.

In addition to his hoops prowess, Mbah a Moute is a prince in the village of Bia Messe, Cameroon, where he is originally from. His father, Camille Moute a Bidias, is the chief of the village and is a high ranking government official, making the Bucks rookie nothing short of royalty. With Mbah a Moute's help, the Bucks were oh so close to knocking off the kings of the NBA.