Aday Mara Propels UCLA Bruins past rivals with 12 points, 11 rebounds and 5 blocks. The Sophomore 7’3″ center for UCLA stepped in for injured Tyler Bilodeau.

Aday Mara has been on minutes restriction for most of the year due to his conditioning. The young centers performance is elevating UCLA and starting to draw attention from NBA scouts. Mara is an exceptional passer with good low post moves. Aday Mara has some wiggle to his low post moves as he utilized his shoulders to fake the defenders on which way he will turn. Mara has a soft touch and is not stiff for his size.

On the defensive end, Aday Mara propelled UCLA past USC with his 5 blocks. UCLA does not play drop coverage on pick and roll action and opts to hard hedge or blitz the man with the ball. There are times when Mara also switched onto smaller players and he used his size and footwork to keep the ball handler in front.

UCLA built a double digit lead and the USC Trojans chipped away by attacking the rim and hitting corner three’s. The Trojans attack the rim with balance utilizing the jump stop and elevating off to feet. USC competed and made tough shots at the rim pulling within one point. In the closing minutes, USC missed free-throws that would have put them in the lead and UCLA Capitalized with Sebastian Mack hitting a dagger three-point shot as the shot clock expired.

Bench players led the way for both the Bruins and Trojans. Sebastian Mack led the bruins with 14 points and Rashaun Agee lead the Trojans with 21.

UCLA is 6-4 in conference play and has won their last three games. Aday Mara is drawing attention from scouts and NBA GM’s. The return of Tyler Bilodeau will make it easier for Cronin to hide Mara from the scouts and to manage his minutes as his conditioning improves but it is clear that UCLA’s post season success rests on the development of the young center.

If Cronin wants a shot at the national title and another final four run, he will have to play the young center and leave him on the court instead of subbing him out for William Kyle like he did against the trojans.

The decision to substitute defense for offense almost cost the Bruins the game but fortunately for the Bruins, Cronin was unable to sub Mara out on two possessions in which Mara challenged shots at the rim and on a corner three and helping the Bruins get much needed stops.

Aday Mara has the third highest average usage rate and the highest average true shooting percentage on the team. When Mara is on the floor, the offense runs through him. Aday Mara is heavily involved which means that his conditioning is vital and needs to improve. Despite his conditioning problems, Mara shoots the ball very well as the average true shooting percentage indicates on the y-axis.

Cronin cannot deny the correlation of Mara being on the floor to UCLA’s success.

The Bruins are out of the Top 25 rankings but have plenty of opportunities to climb and improve their tournament seeding.