ESPN Men's Basketball

ATLANTA -- Arron Afflalo wants to come back. He wants another shot. He doesn't want this to be his last game.

And he certainly doesn't want to cry again next year, too.

His eyes watering, his heart sunk, Afflalo tried to put into words his disappointment with himself and with UCLA's national semifinal loss to Florida Saturday night.

Afflalo had reason to be down. He played a total of five first-half minutes because he picked up three fouls. He missed both shots he attempted before the break. He didn't score his first point, on a 3-pointer, until there were just over six minutes left in the game and the UCLA was down by 13. Afflalo, the Pac-10 player of the year and an All-American, finished with a very misleading 17 points (5 of 14 shooting) in just 22 minutes in the 76-66 loss to the Gators.

"Obviously [the foul trouble] takes you out of your rhythm for a little bit," Afflalo said. "It was disappointing, not being on the floor.

"They're well deserving, the defending champs, but to be knocked out by the same team twice is really disheartening," said Afflalo, who was 3 for 10 for 10 points in the national title game loss to the Gators in Indianapolis last season.

"My emotions right now are that I want another shot at them," Afflalo said.

UCLA coach Ben Howland said it obviously did hurt the Bruins to have Afflalo miss so much time.

"It was difficult to be out there without our leader," said UCLA sophomore Josh Shipp. "It was a difficult game for him. But he did come back in the second half."

Now the reality check comes for Afflalo. Will he really come back for his senior season and make another run at a championship?

If you listen to him, there is a chance. He's no lock for a high first-round NBA draft pick, so it's not out of the question. Afflalo did declare for the draft last year but withdrew. If he declares again, he cannot return to college.

If Afflalo were to return, the Bruins would have to be one of the favorites -- if not the favorite -- to win the national title in 2008. They don't have a senior and are adding arguably the top player in the class of 2007 in center Kevin Love.

Love fills the void for the Bruins inside and UCLA would return the backcourt of Afflalo, Darren Collison and Josh Shipp as well as have Luc Richard Mbah a Moute. The bench would be deep with Alfred Aboya, Lorenzo Mata, Russell Westbrook, Ryan Wright, Michael Roll and James Keefe. UCLA would be one of the deepest teams in the country.

"My sole point of coming here was to win a championship," Afflalo said. "I'm not just satisfied with getting to the Final Four. I compete to win."

Afflalo had a few shots to cut the Gators' lead with under four minutes but couldn't convert open looks. He still made his fair share of shots to keep the game competitive late, but it was still not enough, and not at the right time.

"I've had a great experience, a fun experience, but I'm looking forward to getting back in the gym," Afflalo said.

It's hard to gauge what a player will do at this juncture, especially immediately after a loss, but Afflalo isn't a lock to go to the NBA. Coming back to help the Bruins win a national title, which in turn could increase his NBA stock, isn't a complete reach.

If you saw Afflalo in the back of the Georgia Dome, his eyes bloodshot from tears, his head hung low, you would know how much he wanted to play well Saturday and beat Florida. Now he just as much might want to get another shot to be in the Final Four again next year.

Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.