The Michigan star who helped draft stock ‘the most by far’ in NCAA Tournament

Story by

Lorenzo J Reyna, ClutchPoints

Wed, Apr 29, 2026 ·

1 min read

The Michigan star who helped draft stock ‘the most by far’ in NCAA Tournament appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .

The NBA Draft will welcome some national champions from Michigan basketball this summer. One Wolverine boosted his stock the most during March Madness , though. Which sparks top 10 chatter for Aday Mara .

Sam Vecenie of The Athletic plugged the towering 7-foot-3 talent inside the top 10 Wednesday . Vecenie doesn’t have Mara going 10th overall either, with the Chicago Bulls grabbing him at No. 9.

“Mara, by far, helped himself the most in the NCAA Tournament,” Vecenie began. “I had a vote for Final Four Most Outstanding Player and chose Mara because of how he dominated the semifinal against Arizona (going off for 26 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks) and how he completely changed the geometry defensively against Connecticut with his ability to guard Tarris Reed Jr. on an island while also shutting down the interior for drivers.”

Mara indeed shut down the blue collar center for the Huskies. He embarrassed an Arizona team featuring its own potential top 10 picks in Brayden Burries and Koa Peat, though.

“Mara combines two skills NBA teams seek in their centers: the ability to shut down the paint and the ability to read the court out high as a passer,” Vecenie added. “Opponents shot 54.5 percent at the rim this season when Mara was on the court compared to better than 60 percent when he was off it, per CBB Analytics.”

Michigan loses Mara following his junior year. But the Wolverines landed his eventual replacement already in 7-foot-2 center Moustapha Thiam of Cincinnati . Now Mara becoming the highest drafted Wolverine is fueling NBA rumors ahead of draft night.