UCLA Basketball: Bruins Sign Projected 2024 Lottery Pick Aday Mara

He is here, ladies and gentlemen!

Your UCLA men's basketball team has been hard at work over the past couple of weeks as everybody has been touching down at campus getting ready for their new living situations, academic futures and of course, the 2023-2024 basketball season. The likes of Sebastian Mack, Devin Williams, Brandon Williams and more will all be making their collegiate debut in gold and blue as they look to help the Bruins have an even better campaign than last year.

However, there has been one missing piece to the puzzle that everybody has been waiting on to truly take UCLA over the top and that is the Spanish phenom Aday Mara. You can read all about the complications regarding his contract with his professional Spanish team that made it difficult to officially sign with the Bruins this coming season.

Mara stands at 7'3 and has drawn comparisons to a number of game-changing, generational big men twsuch as Pau Gasol and even though assistant coach Ivo Simovic left UCLA, they were still believed to be the favorites to land him.

And they have now officially brought him aboard... get ready for some big celebrations in Westwood!

𝐀𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐀 ⏩ 𝐔𝐂𝐋𝐀.

The Bruins have signed Aday Mara, a 7-foot-3 center from Spain. Mara will be a freshman at UCLA this fall.

🏀✍️: https://t.co/yWYBUjrWUg pic.twitter.com/6DNaKcmpDX

— UCLA Men’s Basketball (@UCLAMBB) August 3, 2023

"𝐀𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐀 𝐔𝐂𝐋𝐀. The Bruins have signed Aday Mara, a 7-foot-3 center from Spain. Mara will be a freshman at UCLA this fall."

And even though returning big man Adem Bona has his own offensive limitations, you have to be excited about how he's going to pair with Mara down low. The Bruins truly have a ton of depth on their roster now and a lot of names that will make them must-watch basketball night in and night out.

Here is what head coach Mick Cronin had to say about Mara officially joining the squad!

"We are excited to announce the addition of Aday to UCLA," Cronin said. "Throughout this process with Aday, he and his family have stood firm on one thing – that they want a great education for Aday, and to see him grow as a young man at UCLA. He has tremendous size and skill and has developed a great understanding of the game of basketball. He's a humble young man with great parents, and he's blessed to stand at 7-foot-3 with such talent and a strong work ethic. Aday has great FIBA experience, having played within the Spanish basketball federation program while winning awards and championships at different levels. We can't wait to have him here with us in Westwood."

(Via UCLA Athletics)

We cannot wait to see Mara get acclimated into the system and trust me when I tell you that he will be someone to keep an eye on the entire year!