Aday Mara is back on the totem pole
It's been nearly two years since the Wolverines' junior big man was projected to be a lottery pick. With a new jersey on his back, Aday Mara is back to climbing draft rankings.
Having already logged three blocks and a steal in the first 10 minutes against Wake Forest, Aday Mara had put his stamp on the game. Demon Deacons head coach Steve Forbes was forced to make a change.
Initially, Wake Forest thought they could challenge Mara in the pick-and-roll. He stands a lumbering 7 feet, 3 inches, and 255 pounds, and the Deacons have a strong group of guards with a clear speed advantage. They couldn’t get a thing against him. Mara sat in a deep drop every time, his 7-foot-7 wingspan keeping him just a step away from any shot. He covered the entire path of any roll, swiveling his hips with remarkable quickness whenever necessary, all while keeping his eyes on the ball.
Taking the action away from Mara didn’t help much either. The initial change saw starting big Tre’von Spillers sitting in the dunkers spot opposite the ball-handler, threatening as a lob threat if Mara ever ventured too far away. Lobs didn’t come Spillers’ way, though. Mara just ate up too much space, and keeping him anywhere near the paint was a bad idea.
So, Forbes brought in his backup—6-foot-9 Cooper Schwieger, who played the previous season at Valparaiso. Schwieger was the most effective option of the three, stretching the floor out to the 3-point line, and forcing Mara to keep a closeout in the back of his mind, though conceding a lot to Michigan in size.
Mara finished the game with 18 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and five blocks.
Mara began his NBA prospect journey in 2023, where he dominated FIBA U17 play with Spain, paving the way for a scholarship with Mick Cronin at UCLA. At the time, Mara was a preseason lottery pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.
However, as has become infamous with UCLA under Cronin, Mara didn’t get the run scouts thought he would as a freshman. Instead, the center minutes were awarded to then-sophomore Adem Bona, with Mara playing less than 10 minutes per game. The next year saw Mara improve to 13.1 minutes per game, though Cronin continued to defer, running a small-ball starting five with Tyler Bilodeau at center.
The breakout for Mara began in January, with a career-high 22 points on perfect shooting from the field against Wisconsin. Mara earned his only two starts of his collegiate career to that point from that point on, getting over 15 minutes per game in the season’s final 16 games.
When he entered the transfer portal, landing at Michigan, it wasn’t long before Mara started lamenting on his time at UCLA. Mara knew he wouldn’t be the only big man in Michigan’s rotation, much less in the starting five, and that excited him.
“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 told Maize N Brew.
The transition was seamless. Mara’s averages through three games sit at 12.0 points per game, 10.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 3.7 blocks per game. Most importantly, Mara’s minutes are up to more than 25 a game.
Mara’s calling card is his rim protection. From the start of last season to now, Mara’s posted a staggering 16.8% block rate, patrolling the paint with absurd proficiency. Through three games, Michigan has held its opponents to 44.2% at the rim, a 94th percentile mark nationally on just 32nd percentile volume.
Mara’s impact is almost Wembanyama-esque, dispelling rim attempts through sheer size and presence, if not outright erasing them when offensive players are bold enough to challenge. He’s not particularly fast, but with smooth hips and precise hands, Mara’s built for drop coverage—the NBA’s premier method of guarding pick and rolls.
On top of his defense around the rim, Mara also brings a versatile skill set to the offensive end. In fact, Mara’s passing was once his trademark skill, and it remains a key part of his impact.
The three assists per game Mara generates are not entirely indicative of the value he brings. He’s incredible making decisions as a hand-off hub, being able to hold the ball out of reach of would-be thieves, using his height to deliver passes to cutters and shooters over the top of the defense as well.
Mara isn’t a Nikola Jokic, Domantas Sabonis or Alperen Sengun. All those guys are primary creators with the ability to draw in defenders by virtue of their scoring, and the passing skill to act as a pressure valve. Mara does most of his work from a standstill, pushing ahead off a rebound or surveying from the top of the key.
Mara’s ability as a passer allows his team to have actions run around and through him every trip down the floor, but Mara’s offensive superpower is in his ability to impact the game without an action.
Mara is shooting 72.7% from the field this season, finishing possessions with effortless buckets at the rim, needing to get up just a few inches to get the ball over the hoop. He’s an elite rebounder as well, averaging 16.9 rebounds per 100 possessions for his career, securing possessions on both ends.
The four factors to winning are traditionally considered to be effective field goal percentage, offensive rebounding percentage, turnover percentage and free throw rate. Mara excels in grabbing offensive boards and making shots, with more assists than turnovers and a free-throw rate of one for every three field goal attempts. If the valuation of those four metrics is to be believed, Mara is, and always has been, a winning player.
It’s still early season, and Mara isn’t without his holes — he’s a poor free-throw shooter whose touch hasn’t caught up to his mechanics, and he’ll likely never be a guy putting the ball on the floor or a super versatile pick-and-roll defender. However, early on, Mara has been the best player for one of the best teams in the nation, and is displaying NBA skills while doing so.
It’s been a couple of years since Mara was at the top of the totem pole, but he’s back to climbing in a big way.