First true center off my board is a Giant with a super intersection of size with utility and high feel, IQ offensive play. PRO: Ok so the sell is pretty simple... 7'3 guy and he uses it. 90th percentile BLK% after being 98th percentile last year in less minutes he's a superb rim protector and thats lead to his 99th percentile DBPM of 7.6 in conference play which per Bart is the 2nd highest behind any true college center. 0.1 behind Anthony Davis and 0.2 ahead of Walker Kessler. 2 guys with elite level block numbers in seasons across their NBA career. Thats an elite group of rim protectors to be around. And then on the other end, Aday has great technique operating in pick and roll situations, amazing hands and has been a super efficient scorer (expected of a 7'3 center). 91st percentile TS% and a RIM% of 81.1% in the 93rd percentile. There's no questions of if Aday Mara plays true to his length. Mara is a super passer. The vision and technique, his processing speed improved through the year, he's not super turnover prone and his length and tools make his passing skills so much more translatable. Sometime's it felt like he pre-empted passes which put him in bad turnover prone positions but overall this guy has strong playmaking upside. 89th percentile Ast/to, 97th percentile Ast/usg, 97th percentile AST% I could rewatch lobs thrown by this guy to Yaxel all day I love it. Outside of that there's not much really Mara has in his bag but some interesting upside opportunities in his defence in space and mobility and some outside spacing potential. Mara has knocked down 30% of his threes in a small 0.3 attempts a game. Its basically non-existent but for example Clingan never had a higher volume season then Mara from 3 in college and is putting ip 3 a game in his sophomore season. Mara's form is pretty interesting, strong base but not ideal upper form. He himself has mentioned that its an element he wants to improve, although its potentially wishful thinking, Mara could follow the Clingan pathway with the jump shot which opens a lot of opportunity and upside to Mara's offensive game. I also think Mara has pretty good mobility, above average for his size. No Wembanyama thats for sure he's still within the realms of expectation for a 7'3 big but he's pretty mobile and really has his moments guarding in space and making decisions on defence to win moments where permimeter players have advantages over him. CON: Easiest flaw in Mara's game is perimeter defence but specifically when you can force him out of the paint and moving. For example, Vs Purdue in the tournament they exposed him defensively, one of the worst games you'll ever watch from Mara. While I think he's a more mobile player for his height he's still going to be limited in what he can do in that area of the court. Mara doesn't have a tonne of scoring versatility, doesn't have a true three point shot threat and not a good mid range scorer. His free throw numbers are quite poor. 56% from the line is a 17th percentile number and his FTR is fairly average so his scoring while consistent and easily translatable, due to his size and technique around the rim, hasn't got versatility keeping him likely a low volume scorer career wise when projecting. Mara's weight in the post is quite a concern, not the best tape of putting his back to the basket on smaller players and using it to his advantage because he's typically "Out Meated" by opponents. Another weakened stat due to that is rebounding, Mara is a 26th percentile offensive rebounder and a middle of the park 50th in defensive rebounding. Mara plays next to 2 strong rebounders Morez Johnsons Jr and Yaxel Lenderborg typically but all have taken away each other opportunities so I wouldn't read too much into this. NARRATIVE:LOW_MINUTES?: Issue: Mara has weirdly low minutes for someone who's ranked so highly by many as a prospect and for someone with his impact in college. Should that be a concern? Mara averaged 23.4 MPG as a starter for Michigan last year after struggling for consistent minutes last few years at UCLA. Im personally not tripping over it but if you had a concern contextually I could maybe understand if it's around this number. 7'3 guy probably gets tired very easily it makes sense to rest him when you've got the rotational strength to do so and keep him at top impact. PROJECTION: The most similar style of play to Mara in recent drafts. A lighter Donovan Clingan is an optimal outcome for Mara, maybe not the same rebounding impact, maybe won't find the spacing consistency of Clingan in the league But similar playmaking usage and rim protective strengths. Marc Gasol is the fully realised goal of this Mara playstyle and thats where the true all star upside comes out of a pick like this. Some other interesting comparisons could be an Andrew Bogut. I find it hard to believe this skillset with his impact in college won't find a home in this center market and how valued rim protection is.