Those wondering what the giant fuss was about saw it for themselves Wednesday night.
Aday Mara, UCLA’s 7-foot-3 freshman, showed why his addition to the team was such a big deal.
In the span of just a few minutes midway through the second half, Mara buried a feathery jumper, tipped in a loose ball and slipped a bounce pass between two defenders to teammate Jan Vide for a layup, wowing the crowd inside Pauley Pavilion.
Rounding into form nicely in just his third college game after a lengthy layoff from his Spanish club team, Mara recorded career highs across the board to help the Bruins make short work of Long Island during a 78-58 victory.