UCLA coach’s words on Adai Mar, his first year and expectations for his second

Mick CroninUCLA coach, at the beginning of his team’s practice, spoke again about Adai Mara. Cronin spoke to the Bruin Report about the problems Mara had last year and how the Spanish center’s mentality has changed and improved to prepare for the 24/25 game.

These were his words:

“Adai Mara has done a great job with Dave Andrews since returning from Spain this summer after playing for the U20s. They already started working in May, but over the past month and a half they have taken it to another level.

It doesn’t matter how tall you are if you don’t have the strength to make that height a factor in your favor, and he discovered that last year. He needs to develop his endurance and strength to compete in college basketball because college basketball is hard. He had no idea it would be so hard and physical. He works hard and starts to do something on the field. The sooner we get it to full capacity, the better.

The most important thing is that he is aware and aware that he needs to improve his conditioning and strength as a player. Players who do not have this awareness do not improve, you can only help those players who are involved in the process. I was afraid that he wouldn’t realize it and would just come out and say, “I’m very high in the rankings, let me play,” without resisting.. Don’t let him understand that he wasn’t ready for all this and that he needs to improve. It’s not easy for a young guy to go through all this. He has a very good attitude and that’s why I’m optimistic about how he can approach the season. We have yet to see him on the field, but with more strength, the ability to seal his defenders and his height… he will be a problem for opponents. I don’t think he will be a dominant player this season, but he will be a big factor for us.

Adai Mara is completely absorbed in his body. While we train, he does strength exercises… He has a wonderful character, he is a cheerful boy. He always does push-ups so I can see (laughs) and tells me that his girlfriend notices his biceps are growing. “Trust me, coach, he notices.” He’s a funny guy. But he works hard.”

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