Michigan men’s basketball head coach Dusty May has become a guru of sorts when it comes to finding and developing 7-foot big men in college basketball.
With a strong track record that now consists of Vlad Goldin and Danny Wolf, who both came to May as raw products, May’s reputation is now widely known across the sport. That reputation not only attracts high school prospects, but with the current transfer portal filled with untapped talent, May has made it no secret he wants to grab established players
and bring them to Ann Arbor.
May sought out to find replacements for Goldin and Wolf this offseason that exhibit traits like ball-handling, passing and rebounding. Enter: UCLA transfer Aday Mara, a 7-foot-3, 255-pounder from Zaragoza, Spain. He came to Westwood as a raw international prospect, but had a clear ability for passing, finishing at the rim and taking up space in the paint to allow those around him to score.
Mara didn’t receive much playing time out the gate, but by the midway point of last season, it was hard for the Bruins’ staff to keep him off of the court.
“We played against Iowa, and I didn’t play a single minute,” Mara said on the Defend The Block podcast this week. “The next game was against Wisconsin, and I remember I had a really good game.
“I would say that game was the game-changer that changed everything during the season. After that, they kept giving me the opportunity and I kept showing what I was able to do. I was super happy to be able to help the team.”
Mara erupted for 22 points on 7-of-7 shooting from the field and 8-of-12 from the free throw line against the Badgers, along with five rebounds and two blocks in an 85-83 upset win.
It is rare that a role player could make such a large impact on winning games, but the stats showed when Mara was on the court, his team played better. By the end of the season, the Bruins were 10-1 when Mara played 15 or more minutes, with the only loss coming in the second-round loss to Tennessee in the NCAA Tournament.
However, given the fact he only played substantial minutes in half of UCLA’s games last year, Mara looked elsewhere for a larger opportunity.
“My decision to enter the transfer portal was when I saw that the second year (at UCLA), I was still without getting this opportunity to get in the games and help the team,” Mara said. “We just started thinking about it. Obviously, after the second part of the season, it was tougher because I was playing well.
“When we finished March Madness, I just wanted to go home, take a break, think about the season, these last two seasons, talk with my family and just make the best decision.”
For the Wolverines, there was an equal desire to find a big man that could play significant minutes and contribute in a variety of ways on both ends of the floor. Michigan constantly showcased complex plays on offense last season, utilizing its front court on the perimeter to facilitate back-cuts, screen-and-rolls and creating mismatches.
When deciding who to target in the portal, May didn’t have to do much homework to understand what Mara is capable of.
“He really emerged late in the season,” May said in early July. “He had some big, big games. He didn’t play well against us, but through scouting, we felt like he was — we had enough information to go aggressively at him when he went into the portal, and he’s exactly what we thought. He’s a wonderful human being, he’s an elite passer, and he’s really, really tall.”
In the same contest, Mara was eyeing the Wolverines, particularly taking note of Goldin’s career-high 36 points. Fast forward to his transfer process, that matchup was a contributing factor when making decisions on his future program.
“Because I didn’t play a lot that game, I was watching the game. I really liked it — the way they moved the ball, the way they played against us, the way they used the big men,” Mara said. “When I talked to (May), he was telling me that was his idea for this year. It’s very exciting for me, because I’m coming to a program that knows how to use big men and how to play with them.”
Mara is slated to potentially start for Michigan this year. With limited playing time in his previous two seasons, it will be interesting to see what his role will be in Ann Arbor.
There is no question he has the ability to contribute in every aspect – he averaged 6.4 points, four rebounds and one assist in 13 minutes per game last season. He has also proven to be a consistent passer, showcasing a 16.6-percent assist rate a year ago according to KenPom.
With a lot of talented scorers on this year’s team, Mara’s skillset could create opportunities not only for himself, but for his teammates as well.
