UCLA basketball expected to add Aday Mara, Berke Buyuktuncel

The UCLA Bruins are still not finished adding pieces to their incoming freshman recruiting class for their men’s basketball team. Mick Cronin will soon be adding the services of foreign phenom Aday Mara (Spain) and Turkish forward Berke Buyuktuncel, according to multiple reports.

The official announcements on both prospects is expected to come next week, per college basketball insider Jon Rothstein. Both players currently excel on the defensive end of the floor and possess tremendous upside to develop in the coming years. There is plenty of buzz surrounding Mara for the 2024 NBA Draft.

Mara is incredibly long, standing at 7-foot-3 inches, with a reported wingspan of 7 feet-7 inches. He recently turned plenty of heads at the FIBA U18 European Championships, where he was leading the tournament with 3.6 blocks per game.

For a brief look at his highlights you can check out the video here. There are big expectations on his shoulders and once you watch the tape, it’s easy to see why. Many people are expecting Mara to be the next great Spanish star in the NBA, following in the footsteps of Pau Gasol and Marc Gasol.

Bruins fans will hope that Mara and Buyuktuncel can contribute in a big way once they get on campus this fall.

As it currently sits as of July 28th, the Bruins’ 2023 recruiting class currently ranks 15th in the nation, according to the On3 Industry Rankings. Four of their players from that class are ranked in the top 100 of the 2023 cycle, according to those same rankings. Their highest ranked prospect is currently power forward Devin Williams, who hails from Corona, California. He’s currently ranked as the No. 57 overall prospect in the country, according to the On3 Rankings.

UCLA just had one of their biggest stars move onto the NBA

UCLA just had one of their biggest stars end up in the NBA in the 2023 NBA Draft, as Jaime Jaquez, Jr. was selected with the No. 18 overall selection by the Miami Heat.

The former Bruins’ star recently discussed the value of playing against NBA players in pickup games during his time at UCLA. He joined the Podcast P with Paul George to talk about how much those experiences helped him develop as a player.

“I mean, a lot of guys. There’s so many great players that go through them runs. I think Rico [Mick Cronin]–the way he does it is just tremendous and the way he allowed me to be there at such a young age. I remember going there–going into my senior year of high school, he let me come and watch and even sometimes play,” Jaquez recalled.

One of the players who really impressed him during the pickup games was former Florida Gators’ star Corey Brewer.

“But I just remember being there and seeing Corey Brewer. He was one of those first guys to go there. He’s not the biggest NBA guy in the world, but I just remember, I knew who he was. And I was watching him play and I was like, ‘Damn, these motherfu***ers are really good.’ Like, even a guy that isn’t the top of the top All-Star, just really busting everyone’s ass. And it really just gave me perspective like, ‘Damn, I gotta get better.’ You know?” the former UCLA star said.

The forward improved his game each college season, punctuated by an outstanding senior season. Jaquez averaged 17.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.5 steals for the Bruins on his way to the Pac-12 Player of the Year award and a spot on the All-America second team. He was the first Pac-12 Player of the Year from UCLA since Kevin Love in 2008.

On3’s Peter Warren also contributed to this article.