Dusty May Makes His Feelings Clear on Aday Mara’s Unreal Numbers at the NBA Draft Combine

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Dusty May Makes His Feelings Clear on Aday Mara’s Unreal Numbers at the NBA Draft Combine

Koby del Rosario · College Sports Network

Wed, May 20, 2026 ·

2 min read

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Michigan Wolverines coach Dusty May has made his feelings clear about his center, Aday Mara, who continues to impress at this year's NBA Draft Combine. Mara played out his junior year of college basketball under the tutelage of coach May and his Michigan-based program.

In that one year, Mara became May's go-to player when it comes to holding down the fort down low. Since then, Mara has declared for the 2026 NBA Draft and is going through the combine, where he has impressed scouts with his unreal measurements and impressive play.

May could not be prouder of the Zaragoza, Spain native, as in a recent interview with sports analyst Kevin O'Connor on his show, the tenured tactician shared how Mara has had the biggest upside ever since Michigan recruited him. Thus, it has been shown in the combine.

" With Aday, we just went back and studied his film from Zaragoza. We studied his national team film, and we just felt like this guy has as big of an upside as anyone in the portal; and we had a handful of bigs that we were pursuing. But with Aday, we just had a good feeling about him and, man, I'm glad we went with our gut because he was incredibly impactful and, like Yaxel, his unselfishness was another reason we were as successful as we were," May said . (0:03)

"He is another guy that doesn't care if he scores a basket. He takes a lot of pride in protecting the rim. He loves making great passes," he continued.

The deadline for players to withdraw from the NBA Draft and retain their college eligibility is May 27. Mara has spent only three years of collegiate hoops thus far, spending his first two campaigns with the UCLA Bruins. But, Mara is projected to be a first round pick, meaning he may elect to stay with the draft process. Given how he talked about Mara, coach May seems to support the big man with whatever decision he makes.

Aday Mara has the second-longest standing reach in NBA Draft Combine history

Aday Mara's NBA Draft Combine measurements saw him measure 7'3″ barefoot and weigh in at approximately 260 pounds. Coupled with his absurd 7'6″ wingspan, Mara actually tied Phoenix Suns stalwart Mark Williams for the second-longest standing reach in the combine's history with 9'9″. They only trail former Boston Celtics big man Tacko Fall for the top spot.