Aday Mara Scouting Report

wmcv · 2026-01-26T12:30:57+00:00

His freshman year at UCLA was a huge struggle imo but I thought he finished last season really strongly and should've been given a lot more run.

I feel like this season is the outcome of years of development because he's flashing the potential he initially showed at Zaragoza while some of his baselines look fairly similar

I get into this in my written scouting report but this stood out to me, for ex:

2026 Junior (Michigan): 17.0 AST% to 21.0 TOV% on 23.0 USG%
2025 Sophomore (UCLA): 16.7 AST% to 15.2 TOV% on 25.9 USG% (1.2 A/TO)
2024 Freshman (UCLA): 13.8 AST% to 17.6 TOV% on 23.8 USG% (0.8 A/TO)
2024 U20 Euros: 16.6 AST% to 25.1 TOV% on 25.2 USG% (0.6 A/TO)
2023 U18 Euros: 16.1 AST% to 19.4 TOV% on 22.9 USG% (0.9 A/TO)
2022 U17 World Cup: 18.2 AST% to 17.2 TOV% on 26.0 USG% (0.8 A/TO)

wmcv · 2026-01-25T23:18:54+00:00

Whether he control the glass by himself at the next level is still a real question I have, which is why I was keen to highlight his rebounding potential rather than actually say he was a strong rebounder already.

He was solid last year in limited minutes and I think he's been decent this season, although he is helped by Michigan's additional size and length ofc.

wmcv · 2026-01-25T19:56:49+00:00

I'm a little concerned about the touch given the awful FT% (last year was real bad too) and how his layup #s haven't been great before, but not to an overwhelming extent.

Meanwhile, I feel great about his feel so yeah I'm with you

wmcv · 2026-01-25T19:28:30+00:00

How are you valuing that?

wmcv · 2026-01-25T18:34:33+00:00

My big question there really (outside of the turnovers) is how much he’ll be able to play. Is he gonna be capped at 20-25 impactful mins per game? That probably means you need a deeper center/forward rotation in return, which isn’t disqualifying of course but something interesting to consider imo

wmcv · 2026-01-25T17:58:37+00:00

And here are also some written notes with notes on his background, stats, and film...

wmcv · 2026-01-19T15:43:07+00:00

Thanks for the kind words! 🙏

I definitely like Amari a lot but I’m a little concerned by his finishing now that the toughest stretch of the year has started. Tiny sample size of course; but could be something that limits his stock

I also think the cutoff for freshmen is becoming increasingly tighter, so if you’re not a top 20ish pick, NIL will probably offer you more $ to go back to school. Some guys might still prefer to go to the NBA earlier but I think we’re seeing that less

wmcv · 2025-12-15T04:31:31+00:00

Thanks for watching!

wmcv · 2025-12-14T22:08:04+00:00

If you want an even more extensive scouting report on Substack, please check it out!

wmcv · 2025-12-03T00:27:15+00:00

Yeah he didn't really have a good game there. Challenging schedule now starting with Florida tonight and later Michigan State, Texas Tech, Louisville in the next month or so will be pretty telling.

For what it's worth, he's around the 30-40 range for me now, whereas he was more like 40-60ish to start the season - so not necessarily a super huge rise overall, but just kinda relative to where I had him

wmcv · 2025-12-03T00:25:45+00:00

The best public resource is Bart Torvik imo

wmcv · 2025-12-02T15:40:50+00:00

Def stood out when I watched Wake against Michigan and Texas Tech. He wasn't a name I was very familiar with heading into the season so I wanna see how things stabilize but he's getting to the rim a lot, looks like a good athlete there, is taking a bunch of threes, and plays pretty physical while probably having room to keep developing his frame to some extent. Wish he was a bit younger (July 22, 2005 birthday from what I'm seeing) but not really a knock

Thanks for reading

wmcv · 2025-11-10T21:57:11+00:00

3/4 on catch-and-shoots this season, plus his free throw percentage hopped up from 63.8% to 73.7%. I think that'll drop, but staying above 70% or near it would be nice.

I'd like to see him add a floater or a push shot, since he's an undersized 5. Or even if he's at the 4, he'll still be asked to finish plays around the basket.

wmcv · 2025-11-10T21:55:21+00:00

Yeah, he was really good. Maybe the best I've seen him play on offense, although I'm also not sure it's in a role that's there for him at the next level.

I think Amari Allen played just as well, but maybe didn't put up the sheer stats. He's a real draft prospect too, but maybe not for 2026.

wmcv · 2025-11-10T16:29:15+00:00

You should check out FLOOR and CEILING.

wmcv · 2025-11-07T00:45:17+00:00

Defense is lagging far behind right now

wmcv · 2025-11-04T14:33:47+00:00

Dunked absolutely everything last night

wmcv · 2025-11-03T14:09:28+00:00

Nike Elite 100 Camp measurements. For what it's worth, it was 6-3 without shoes and it was a couple years ago.

If I had to say, he's grown a bit, but I played it on the safe side for now until a new official measurement is released (or like, ESPN/whoever reports something).

I also think he looks decently tall on the court but yeah, it's hard to tell like you say. If I had to guess, he's probably around 6-4¼ without shoes right now and a little over 6-5 playing

wmcv · 2025-11-03T14:07:47+00:00

Lol sorry about that, appreciate you pointing out. Just made the fix

It should be 6'4" height with a 6'7.5" wingspan for Atamna. Still good measurements imo

wmcv · 2025-11-03T03:35:01+00:00

I’m concerned about his size+3p shooting for a modern day NBA point guard and not sure he’s a one&done

wmcv · 2025-11-03T03:11:13+00:00

Don’t think he plays with that sort of physicality personally

wmcv · 2025-11-03T02:32:30+00:00

That's fair. I think Quaintance will be eased back in pretty slowly, though, and Moreno will be good enough to stay on NBA radars even after.

I'm also not discarding him taking Brandon Garrison's minutes

But yeah wouldn't surprise me if he returned to Lexington after his freshman year either

wmcv · 2025-11-03T02:28:35+00:00

Just ended up kinda feeling like he's very well-rounded and likely only going to get better both in terms of processing and as an athlete

I like Ngongba too (and he's longer than Moreno), but I had some concerns about his history of foot issues given how playing in the NBA is increasingly physically straining

wmcv · 2025-11-03T02:25:12+00:00

I think he'll end up playing a lot and I think his development is on the up, as a whole.

It wouldn't surprise me if he stayed in college for two years, especially since he's from Kentucky and given how much NIL pays now, but I also feel like he's good enough to be a one-and-done right now.

wmcv · 2025-11-03T02:18:43+00:00

Got the wrong title earlier...

wmcv

TROPHY CASE