UCLA has suffered a big setback in its plans for next season: Aday Mara is not returning.
The 7-foot-3 center who could become a gargantuan story for his next team is planning to play elsewhere after two seasons as a Bruin. Mara’s departure was confirmed by two people close to the situation not authorized to publicly divulge his plans because they have not been made public.
Mara is a two-way force who can score in a variety of ways and pass like a point guard while also blocking shots, altering others and keeping an untold amount from being taken.
But he did not play a heavy allotment of minutes until the second half of the season, possibly accelerating his departure.
After being a part-time starter as a freshman in a failed two-post experiment, Mara almost exclusively came off the bench as a sophomore, the lone exception being a victory over USC in which Tyler Bilodeau was recovering from an ankle injury.
Coach Mick Cronin cited a variety of factors — conditioning, matchups and multiple illnesses — for Mara’s limited usage, but it became increasingly clear that the best version of the Bruins involved having Mara on the court.
After a breakout late January performance against Wisconsin in which he scored a career-high 22 points to go with five rebounds and two blocks in only 21 minutes, Mara was a bigger part of the rotation the rest of the season.
Even though his season averages of 6.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in 13.1 minutes might seem modest, Mara presented a matchup nightmare for opponents because of his shot-blocking prowess, precision passing and ability to score with both power and finesse.
Making his limited usage all the more puzzling, Cronin conceded late in the season that the 6-9 Bilodeau was not a center even though he started every game he played at the position.
The departure of Mara is a huge blow in the wake of the arrival of highly coveted transfer point guard Donovan Dent from New Mexico, forcing UCLA to mine the transfer portal for two centers given that backup big man William Kyle III recently left for Syracuse. The only minor salvaging of the situation is that the Bruins can use whatever name, image and likeness funds they had earmarked for Mara for his replacement.
The Bruins will also need a transfer wing player as part of a roster that will also include Dent and fellow guards Skyy Clark, Trent Perry and Eric Freeny as well as forwards Eric Dailey Jr., Brandon Williams and Bilodeau.
But their biggest need just shifted to the low post.