Misplaced Pages

Aday Mara

Article snapshot taken from[REDACTED] with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Spanish basketball player (born 2005) In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Mara and the second or maternal family name is Gómez.

Aday Mara
No. 15 – UCLA Bruins
PositionCenter
LeagueBig Ten Conference
Personal information
Born (2005-04-07) April 7, 2005 (age 19)
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 place 2023 Serbia Team

Aday Mara Gómez (born April 7, 2005) is a Spanish college basketball player for the UCLA Bruins of the Big Ten Conference.

Professional career

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

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.

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.

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

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

College career

On August 3, 2023, UCLA announced Mara's signing. 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". 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.

In 2024–25, Mara scored a career-high 22 points in an 85–83 upset win over No. 18 Wisconsin, halting the Badgers' winning streak at seven. He shot seven-for-seven and added five rebounds, including four offensive, and had two blocks in a then-season-high 21 minutes. He followed up with 12 points and seven rebounds along with career highs of 30 minutes and five blocks in a win over Washington. His 51 minutes in two games bested his usage in the prior eight contests. In the following game against USC, Mara made his first start of the season and recorded his first career double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds along with five blocks again against UCLA's crosstown rivals.

National team career

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

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2023–24 UCLA 28 8 9.5 .442 .000 .700 1.9 0.5 0.1 0.7 3.5

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. His mother Angélica "Geli" Gómez, played volleyball on the Spain women's national volleyball team. Mara's father and mother respectively stand at 201 cm and 190 cm.

References

  1. Bravo, Chema M. (November 23, 2021). "Aday Mara, cuando el límite es el cielo". Heraldo de Aragón.
  2. ^ Machín, Raquel (November 17, 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. October 9, 2021.
  4. Canyameras, Toni (February 21, 2023). "La NBA alucina con Aday Mara en el All Star: "Su límite es el cielo"". Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  5. "Aday Mara, la perla del baloncesto español, a la conquista de la NBA". 20 minutos (in Spanish). February 10, 2023. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  6. "Spain big man Mara passing his way to top prospect status". FIBA.basketball. July 3, 2022. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  7. García, Guillermo (October 17, 2022). "Aday Mara, el gigante español de 2,20 que asombra al mundo del baloncesto". Relevo (in Spanish). Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  8. ^ Pinilla, José Ignacio (November 6, 2022). "Aday Mara, el unicornio español". AS.
  9. "Aday Mara, el gigante más joven de la historia de la Liga Endesa". acb.com. October 16, 2022.
  10. "La NBA se frota las manos con Aday Mara: "Muchos equipos le siguen"". Diario AS (in Spanish). February 21, 2023. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  11. "UCLA Men's Basketball Signs Aday Mara". UCLA. August 3, 2023. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
  12. "Aday Mara, the Spanish giant that will play with UCLA in the NCAA". Marca. August 2, 2023. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
  13. Bolch, Ben (October 27, 2023). "UCLA still awaiting NCAA clearance on freshmen Aday Mara and Berke Buyuktuncel". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
  14. Borzello, Jeff (November 3, 2023). "UCLA star freshman Aday Mara cleared by NCAA for competition". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  15. Bolch, Ben (January 21, 2025). "Aday Mara makes his presence felt in UCLA's upset win over Wisconsin". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
  16. Bolch, Ben (January 24, 2025). "Aday Mara doesn't miss in crunch time as resurgent UCLA defeats Washington". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
  17. Bolch, Ben (January 27, 2025). "ebastian Mack's late heroics help UCLA edge USC and extend its winning streak". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
  18. "Eric Dailey Jr., UCLA hang on for victory over USC". Reuters. Field Level Media. January 28, 2025. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
  19. Corbella, Enrique (February 21, 2023). "NBA grow excited about Spain's Aday Mara during the All-Star Weekend: The sky's the limit for him". MARCA. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  20. "Cómo y dónde ver en TV el España-Francia de la Copa del Mundo FIBA sub 17 de Málaga". Málaga Hoy. July 9, 2022. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  21. "All in the family at FIBA Basketball U17 World Cup 2022". FIBA.basketball. July 9, 2022. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  22. "Aday Mara y Lucas Langarita pasan a ser jugadores de la primera plantilla del Casademont Zaragoza". Heraldo de Aragón. October 28, 2022. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  23. "Aday Mara y Lucas Langarita: cuando el éxito va en los genes". El desmarque. July 11, 2022.
  24. "Aday Mara". acb.com. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  25. Corbella, Enric (October 17, 2022). "Aday Mara, el unicornio español de 2,20 m., derriba la puerta con 17 años: debuta en la ACB haciendo historia". Marca.

External links

Categories:
Aday Mara Add topic