Dwelling with somebody who’s 7 toes 3 doesn’t solely result in trying up.
Just a few months in the past, Lazar Stefanovic glanced throughout the four-bedroom condominium he shares with Aday Mara and two different UCLA freshmen and seen a stool that had been in the lounge was now residing in Mara’s bed room.
The tallest Bruin since 7-7 heart Mike Lanier within the early Nineties, Mara had positioned that stool on the finish of his mattress in order that his size-18 toes would have one thing to relaxation on. It was a brief repair, Mara finally getting the mattress outfitted with a extra snug extension.
Even so, his dimension figures to be a seasonlong storyline. Stefanovic, who at 6-7 shouldn’t be precisely quick himself, likes strolling round campus with Mara as a result of it renders him virtually invisible. Everybody they encounter is simply too busy gawking on the 7-foot freshman and asking the identical questions.
How tall are you? Do you play basketball?
Mara’s arrival signifies that sophomore heart Adem Bona now not has the most important shoe dimension (17) or wingspan (7-4) on the group. At 6-10, Bona has additionally been bumped right into a three-way tie for the second-tallest participant alongside sixth-year senior Kenneth Nwuba and freshman Devin Williams, all ceding 5 inches to Mara.
“Aday is only a huge human being,” Bona stated with amusing. “He’s such a tremendous expertise and I feel it’s going to be hassle for groups having each of us on the ground.”
They’re simply a part of a supersized, freshman-heavy roster that might assist UCLA hit the big-time in its fifth season underneath coach Mick Cronin and first with out trusted sidekicks Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Tyger Campbell.
The Bruins are large within the submit (6-9 ahead Berke Buyuktuncel can even be an enormous a part of the rotation along with Bona and Mara), on the wings (6-6 Ilane Fibleuil, 6-3 Will McClendon and 6-7 Brandon Williams will rotate with Stefanovic) and at level guard (6-2 Dylan Andrews, 6-3 Sebastian Mack and 6-6 Jan Vide are all considerably taller than predecessor Campbell).
All that peak has prompted Cronin to say he would go along with a two-big lineup for the primary time since Cody Riley and Jalen Hill patrolled the paint throughout Cronin’s first season with the Bruins. But the coach will probably be watching two classes intently. If his group isn’t dominant in rebounding and protection, he may reverse course and return to utilizing 4 guards.
Don’t depend on it. Having Bona and Mara on the courtroom collectively for lengthy stretches might trigger issues for opponents past the plain points scoring over their size.
“You drive in and also you see these guys,” Stefanovic stated, “you’re like, all proper, I’m dribbling out, I’m not capturing over them.”
Bona is fast sufficient to modify onto level guards on the perimeter, and Mara is deceptively quick for his dimension.
“That’s one thing that individuals don’t perceive,” Bona stated of his teammate. “They suppose he’s 7-3 and he can’t transfer effectively; that dude may guard the pick-and-roll rather well together with his body, together with his dimension and his size, his wingspan. Good luck to individuals attempting to get round that.”
After having his first school season finish prematurely due to a shoulder damage, a totally recovered Bona is anticipated to grow to be a two-way pressure. He’s added a midrange leap shot and new submit strikes to his easy catching lobs for dunks. Cronin has repeatedly stated Bona would be the group’s greatest participant and a first-round NBA draft decide in June.
There’s one factor Bona’s keen to concede. Even together with his lengthy limbs, he’s given up attempting to cope with the Mara sky hook that has led to Bona calling his teammate Kareem Abdul-Mara. It’s a playful spin on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the previous Bruin (then referred to as Lew Alcindor) whose favourite transfer helped him grow to be the NBA’s all-time main scorer earlier than being eclipsed by LeBron James.
The babyfaced Mara has wowed teammates and coaches together with his capacity to shoot with both hand and cross like some extent guard, although he may must keep away from getting a bit too cutesy.
“Aday, regardless that I really like the best way he performs,” Nwuba stated, “the one-handed passes, you’ve obtained to be cautious about that.”
The final holdover from the Steve Alford period, Nwuba is now not an insurance coverage coverage. He’s the one participant on the group who has performed in a Last 4, to not point out filling in admirably for Bona final 12 months within the NCAA match earlier than a pinched nerve in his hip early within the second half of a Candy 16 loss to Gonzaga restricted his mobility.
Now he’s in the perfect form of his profession, including a turnaround jumper to an array of more and more spectacular strikes across the basket.
“Kenny’s the perfect non-starter in America, is what I might inform you,” Cronin stated, “America’s backup.”
Cronin instantly corrected himself, saying Nwuba might begin some video games. That may imply beating out a proficient solid of counterparts that features Buyuktuncel, one other immensely expert huge man who can rating in quite a lot of methods.
“He has all-around sport,” Stefanovic stated of Buyuktuncel, one other large who inhabits his condominium alongside Mara and Vide. “He can play inside-outside, he can cross fairly good, he’s a lefty, so the lefties are normally a bit atypical and tougher to protect.”
One other profit to taking part in with a lot dimension is that it ought to result in extra open photographs from the perimeter given the necessity for opposing defenses to pack the inside to restrict simple scoring alternatives. That would reverse a worrisome pattern through which UCLA’s three-point share has declined in every of the final three seasons, from 37.2% in 2020-21 to 35.3% in 2021-22 to 34.9% in 2022-23.
Stefanovic could possibly be the veteran who holds the group collectively in his first season after transferring from Utah. A junior sharpshooter identified for making the sensible play, he’s already instituted guidelines about retaining widespread areas clear within the condominium he shares with these freshmen.
“I don’t care what you do in your room,” Stefanovic stated of his edict, “however the areas we use collectively, it needs to be clear. You may’t depart the soiled stuff behind.”
Nobody has to inform Mara what to do each time he enters the condominium. He has no alternative. Reducing his head and shoulders, he geese.
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