Former Bruin Mara Settles on Next Destination

He averaged 6.4 points per game, 4.0 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in 13.1 minutes of action.

247Sports' Isaac Trotter recently ranked Mara No. 40 on his list of "top 100 players in the college basketball transfer portal."

Here's what he had to say about the former Bruin:

"The 7-foot-3 center is enormous and opponents shot just 52% at the rim against UCLA when Mara was in the game. There were motor and toughness questions when he charted over from Spain to UCLA, but he answered some of those criticisms throughout his sophomore season.

"Even though he dealt with illness, Mara had some dominant showings. His back-to-the-basket game became a strength. It was impossible for teams to keep him off the glass, and Mara's feel as a playmaker got better by the day. Mara can be a big-time weapon as a junior."

Mara will be entering his third season of college basketball, a year in which he could see his game take another major leap.

247Sports rated Mara a five-star prospect out of high school, ranking him the No. 1 class of 2023 prospect from Spain, the No. 3 center in his class and the No. 15 overall recruit in his class.

He would average just under 10 minutes of playing time in his first season with the Bruins, posting a mere 3.5 points per game and 1.9 rebounds.

After not seeing a whole lot of minutes in the first half of Year 2, Mara began to be utilized more down the stretch, and in turn, UCLA began to find more production down low, both offensively and defensively.

Given that Mara is remaining in the conference, he will see UCLA again next season, this time as an opponent.

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