Aday Mara
No. 15 – UCLA Bruins
PositionCenter
LeaguePac-12 Conference
Personal information
Born (2005-04-07) 7 April 2005
Zaragoza, Spain
Listed height7 ft 3 in (2.21 m)
Listed weight240 lb (109 kg)
Career information
CollegeUCLA (2023–present)
Playing career2021–present
Career history
2021–2023Casademont Zaragoza
2021→CBP Huesca
2022→Anagan Olivar
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  Spain
FIBA U18 European Championship
Silver medal – second place2023 SerbiaTeam

Aday Mara Gómez (born 7 April 2005) is a Spanish college basketball player for the UCLA Bruins of the Pac-12 Conference.

Professional career

After Mara began to play basketball for Básket Lupus, he joined Zaragoza Basket's youth categories.[1] He was assigned in the lower tiers with Zaragoza's affiliated team Club Baloncesto El Olivar (EBA League).[2] He made his debut in LEB Oro in the also affiliated team Levitec Huesca in a fixture against Tau Castelló in October 2021.[3] Mara made his debut with the first team of Casademont Zaragoza on 17 November 2021, age 16, in a Fiba Europe Cup fixture against Reggio Emilia, scoring two points.[2]

He played in the 2020–21 Euroleague Basketball Next Generation Tournament and averaged 8.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks over four games.[4][5]

Mara was loaned to CB Peñas Huesca of LEB Oro at the start of the 2021–2022 season due to a roster shortage at the club. He averaged 2.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 0.7 blocks over six games. Mara was then assigned to Anagan Olivar of Liga EBA, the Spanish fourth division, where he averaged 10.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.8 blocks per game.[6]

Mara made his Liga ACB debut with Zaragoza on 16 October 2022,[7][8] chipping in eight points, four rebounds, one assist and one block.[9]

Mara took part in the Basketball Without Borders camp during the 2023 NBA All-Star weekend in Salt Lake City, Utah.[10]

College career

On 3 August 2023, UCLA announced Mara's signing.[11] Casademont Zaragoza had contested the termination of the contract between Mara and the club. Earlier, the club stated in a press release, that "contracts must be respected" and considered to "take the necessary measures to keep it that way".[12] The dispute led to potential NCAA eligibility issues for Mara, before he was cleared to play for UCLA three days before the start of the 2023–24 season.[13][14]

National team career

Mara played for the Spain under-17 basketball team at the 2022 FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup.[15] He averaged 12.6 points, five rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game as Spain made the final before losing to the United States.[16]

Personal life

Mara was born and lives in Zaragoza, Spain. His father, Francisco Javier Mara, played basketball professionally for CB Zaragoza from 1986 to 1988.[17] His mother Angélica "Geli" Gómez, played volleyball on the Spain women's national volleyball team.[18][19][20][21] Mara's father and mother respectively stand at 201 cm and 190 cm.[8]

References

  1. ↑ Bravo, Chema M. (23 November 2021). "Aday Mara, cuando el límite es el cielo". Heraldo de Aragón.
  2. 1 2 Machín, Raquel (17 November 2021). "Casademont Zaragoza-Reggio Emilia: El día que debutó Aday Mara". El Periódico de Aragón.
  3. ↑ "Aday Mara, la torre de futuro del baloncesto español de 2,18 y 16 años, ilusiona en su brillante estreno en LEB Oro". Marca. 9 October 2021.
  4. ↑ Canyameras, Toni (21 February 2023). "La NBA alucina con Aday Mara en el All Star: "Su límite es el cielo"". Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  5. ↑ "Aday Mara, la perla del baloncesto español, a la conquista de la NBA". 20 minutos (in Spanish). 10 February 2023. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  6. ↑ "Spain big man Mara passing his way to top prospect status". FIBA.basketball. 3 July 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  7. ↑ García, Guillermo (17 October 2022). "Aday Mara, el gigante español de 2,20 que asombra al mundo del baloncesto". Relevo (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  8. 1 2 Pinilla, José Ignacio (6 November 2022). "Aday Mara, el unicornio español". AS.
  9. ↑ "Aday Mara, el gigante más joven de la historia de la Liga Endesa". acb.com. 16 October 2022.
  10. ↑ "La NBA se frota las manos con Aday Mara: "Muchos equipos le siguen"". Diario AS (in Spanish). 21 February 2023. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  11. ↑ "UCLA Men's Basketball Signs Aday Mara". UCLA. 3 August 2023. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  12. ↑ "Aday Mara, the Spanish giant that will play with UCLA in the NCAA". Marca. 2 August 2023. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  13. ↑ Bolch, Ben (27 October 2023). "UCLA still awaiting NCAA clearance on freshmen Aday Mara and Berke Buyuktuncel". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  14. ↑ Borzello, Jeff (3 November 2023). "UCLA star freshman Aday Mara cleared by NCAA for competition". ESPN.com. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  15. ↑ Corbella, Enrique (21 February 2023). "NBA grow excited about Spain's Aday Mara during the All-Star Weekend: The sky's the limit for him". MARCA. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  16. ↑ "Cómo y dónde ver en TV el España-Francia de la Copa del Mundo FIBA sub 17 de Málaga". Málaga Hoy. 9 July 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  17. ↑ "All in the family at FIBA Basketball U17 World Cup 2022". FIBA.basketball. 9 July 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  18. ↑ "Aday Mara y Lucas Langarita pasan a ser jugadores de la primera plantilla del Casademont Zaragoza". Heraldo de Aragón. 28 October 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  19. ↑ "Aday Mara y Lucas Langarita: cuando el éxito va en los genes". El desmarque. 11 July 2022.
  20. ↑ "Aday Mara". acb.com. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  21. ↑ Corbella, Enric (17 October 2022). "Aday Mara, el unicornio español de 2,20 m., derriba la puerta con 17 años: debuta en la ACB haciendo historia". Marca.
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