UCLA Basketball: Potential Bruins Recruit Continues To Draw Comparisons To NBA Hall Of Famers

Heady company for the big fella.

7'3" Liga ACB center Aday Mara has long been rumored to be a future UCLA Bruin. Wade Peery of On3 does nothing to dispel us of that notion, and invokes the names of a tandem of two of his starry Spanish countrymen.

His height and reported 7'7" wingspan helped him notch 3.6 blocks per contest during the FIBA Under 18 European Championships 

Per Peery, the 18-year-old has the potential to have the same kind of impact that the Gasol brothers, Pau and Marc, did in the NBA.

That is certainly an unfair benchmark for a young star who has yet to suit up for an NCAA contest. Pau Gasol, a seven-foot power forward/center who was named to six All-Star teams while playing for the Memphis Grizzlies, Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls, will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame later this month. During an 18-year NBA career which included three consecutive NBA Finals appearances (and two titles), the four-time All-NBA selection holds averages of 17 points on .507/.368/.753 shooting splits, 9.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.6 blocks per regular season contest.

Although he was a less highly-touted prospect than his big brother, Marc Gasol could make his own Hall of Fame case. The 6'11" big man is actually, currently, a teammate of Mara on Liga ACB. During a 13-year NBA career, Gasol was named to three All-Star teams and two All-NBA teams on the Memphis Grizzlies while winning one title as a starter for the Toronto Raptors. He was also the 2013 Defensive Player of the Year.

Let's let Mara be Mara, rather than comparing him to this all-time greats.