Michigan center Aday Mara makes NBA Draft decision ahead of deadline
· Yahoo Sports
After two down years at UCLA, Aday Mara took his game to the next level at Michigan.
And after playing a big role — literally and figuratively — during the Wolverines’ national championship run, Mara is looking to make the jump to the next level.
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Mara will enter the NBA Draft, according to multiple reports on Friday, which was the last day for players to do so.
Whether he maintains his college eligibility remains to be seen. Players have until the NCAA's May 27 deadline to withdraw and return to school. But given the breakout season Mara had with the Wolverines as a full-time starter, that doesn't seem likely.
“The process of being here this year, I'm so grateful and so happy that I'm able to play with this group,” Mara said during the NCAA Tournament. “But it was a process coming from maybe two years that I didn't have the opportunity to show what I was able to do.”
With the Wolverines, Mara, 21, was able to showcase his unique mix of skills all season long while operating in a three-big lineup alongside Yaxel Lendeborg and Morez Johnson Jr.
At 7-foot-3 and with an even longer wingspan, Mara made a two-way impact as one of the best shot blockers in college basketball and arguably the best passer of anyone close to his size.
He ranked sixth in the nation with 2.6 blocks per game, set a Michigan single-season record with 103 swats, and altered countless other shots around the basket as the Big Ten’s Defensive Player of the Year. He ranked third on the team with 2.4 assists and had numerous highlight-reel dishes.
“We love passing. I think passing is a great barometer of basketball IQ,” coach Dusty May said during the NCAA Tournament. “Aday recalled one of his youth coaches saying that an assist makes two people happy; a basket usually makes one person happy.
“Then the obvious rim protection. We like the system that we have, so if the pieces fit, then we would like to continue doing the things we do because we understand the nuance and we understand all the different ways that they can attack you. We thought (Mara) in our drop coverage would be a defensive anchor for us, and that's proved correct.”
His presence and impact in the paint showed in many of Michigan’s defensive numbers. The Wolverines ranked No. 1 in nation in defensive efficiency (0.885 points per possession), No. 2 in 2-point defense (43.8%), No. 3 in block percentage (16.4%) and No. 4 in average distance of 2-point attempts (7.3 feet), per KenPom, all which Mara contributed to in a major way.
With his creativity and vision, Mara often found cutters when he initiated offense out of the high post and passed out of double-teams. He was a clever low-post player and a lob threat who could finish with either hand around the rim. He averaged a career-high 12.1 points in 23.4 minutes while shooting 66.8% from the field.
While he shot 56.4% at the foul line, he showed noticeable improvement late in the season by knocking down 74% of his free throws over the final 19 games. And after not attempting a single 3-pointer during his two seasons at UCLA, where he primarily played a reserve role, he flashed his long-range shooting at Michigan by going 3-for-10 from beyond the arc.
“He had talent. Everyone for the last 10 years has known he's had talent, but how do you unlock that talent?” May said. “We did feel like we had the system in place where we could maximize what he does well.”
It showed, especially in the postseason when Mara elevated his play and made history as the first Spaniard to win an NCAA Division I men’s basketball national championship.
His signature performance — and arguably his best outing all season — came in the Final Four win over Arizona. Against the Wildcats’ physical defensive frontline, Mara poured in a career-high 26 points with nine rebounds.
That helped turn him into a March Madness stock riser who’s projected to go anywhere from the lottery to late first round in mock drafts by national outlets like Bleacher Report, CBS Sports, ESPN, The Athletic and Yahoo! Sports.
“Aday has put a lot of work and it takes time to grow into this role. He's physically more mature than he was,” May said. “Did we envision this? We went back and we looked at his film and playing with the Spanish national team, playing for (club team) Zaragoza and he had shown glimpses of this.
“Coming over he was projected on the mock drafts as maybe a lottery pick, a top-10 pick, and then those things changed. But he's playing ball at a high level, and he's added a lot to our program.”
In addition to Mara, fellow frontcourt starter Morez Johnson Jr. declared for the draft Friday while retaining his college eligibility. The Wolverines added 7-foot-2 Cincinnati center Moustapha Thiam, who's viewed as a replacement for Mara, via the transfer portal earlier in the day.
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This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Michigan Wolverines center Aday Mara enters 2026 NBA Draft