UCLA hit the lottery

Mick Cronin adds another impact foreign player in Aday Mara. Plus, Kansas rolls in its exhibition, which programs have foreign tours to note and the five biggest impact late transfers.

Author

Tristan Freeman
August 04, 2023

It’s August, but some teams are still adding key players to their 2023-24 rosters, proving that it’s truly “better late than never.”

Let's get to the news.

1. UCLA adds a potential lottery pick

This was in the works for the past couple of weeks, but UCLA made it official on Thursday, signing 7-3 center, Aday Mara. The big man from Spain is not only viewed as one of the best international newcomers for the 2023-24 season but also has plenty of hype as a future NBA prospect.

Mara averaged 14.0 ppg and 9.1 rpg this summer as a member of the U18 Spanish national team. He’s a highly skilled big who’s also a capable shot-blocker. His immediate impact for UCLA is to shore up the center position, where he could play alongside Adem Bona or back him up.

This is the third international freshman joining the Bruins this off-season. Jan Vide, a 6-7 guard, and top-40 prospect Ilane Fibleuil are also projected rotation pieces.

Still, it wasn’t a given that Mara would join them after assistant Ivo Simovic accepted a job with the Toronto Raptors. Yet Mick Cronin’s new international pipeline seems to remain intact, giving the program another way of landing quality talent for the foreseeable future.

Thursday’s other notable commitments:

  • Northwestern landed KJ Windham, a 3-star combo guard in the 2024 class. With Boo Buie and Princeton transfer Ryan Langborg leaving after next season, the 6-2 guard could be an immediate impact player.

  • One-time Virginia Tech commit AJ Swinton has picked a new ACC team in Florida State. All of the Seminoles’ wings/big guards are upperclassmen, so the 6-5 wing should have an opportunity as part of the 2024 class.

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2. New roster, same result for Jayhawks

Kansas had a nice couple of days. It landed Australian wing Johnny Furphy, then ran away from the Puerto Rico Select Team in the opener of its foreign tour on Thursday.

And this one wasn’t close from the start.

Kansas rolled, 106-72, in the debuts of Hunter Dickinson, Nick Timberlake and the four other newcomers. Texas transfer Arterio Morris didn’t start in the game but led the Jayhawks in scoring, producing 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists off the bench. KJ Adams had 19 points, while Dickinson went for 13.

The biggest note was the defensive pressure, as Kansas turned 24 turnovers into 34 points, something coach Bill Self wasn’t sure they’d display.

“I actually thought we played pretty well, obviously early,” Self said. “We got out and they couldn’t get a shot off. We haven’t really worked on a lot of things defensively, but we’ve done some things offensively and I thought we shared the ball for the most part.”

The Jayhawks have two more exhibition games (Saturday and Monday) against the Bahamian National Team, which might provide a little more competition given their roster.

Kansas isn’t the only notable program getting in some preseason action. Here’s a list of other teams and results to look out for this weekend.

Xavier (Aug 6-13 in the Bahamas)

Here’s one to watch. Jerome Hunter is sidelined with a medical issue, and Zach Freemantle and Kam Craft are still recovering from injuries, so it’s going to be a chance for anyone to stand out, including the CUSA transfers, Dayvion McKnight and Quincy Olivari.

Illinois (Aug 4-14 in Spain)

After missing out on the RayJ Dennis sweepstakes, Illinois has elected not to add a point guard from the portal. Instead, it’ll be up to freshman Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn and sophomore Ty Rodges to run the point.

Pittsburgh (Aug 5-14 in Spain)

It’s the debut of Dior Johnson, a one-time 5-star prospect who sat out all of last season due to off-the-court issues. How good he plays in the brand-new backcourt could determine how far Pittsburgh goes next season.

Baylor (Aug 5-14 in France)

Keyonte George was a standout for Baylor in the preseason a year ago. Could 5-star freshman guard Ja’Kobe Walter do the same thing in the next week? Transfer guards RayJ Dennis and Jayden Nunn are also newcomers to watch here.

USC (Aug 5-15 in Greece and Croatia)

No Bronny James, but the nation’s top incoming freshman, Isaiah Collier, is a must-see attraction for this program. It’ll also be a look at Vincent Iwuchukwu, who has recovered from his own heart issues a year ago that sidelined him for half of last season.

3. Late transfers who’ll have a big impact

Most of the transfer portal activity happened before July 4. It just seems like we’ve had plenty of moves in the last month.

More interesting is that many of these additions will be crucial during the season because several involved likely starters for their respective teams. Here are the five biggest to know (aside from Kentucky’s addition of Zvonimir Ivisic this week).

Ithiel Horton: Texas

The Longhorns’ backcourt depth behind projected starters Tyrese Hunter and Oral Roberts transfer Max Abmas was thin before landing Horton. He averaged 12.3 ppg at UCF and is a career 38% from 3-point range. He’s the ideal sixth man or even a starter on the wing.

Jahvon Quinerly: Memphis

The former SEC Sixth Man of the Year is the answer to Memphis's need for another point guard since it seems unlikely that 5-star freshman Mikey Williams makes it to campus due to legal issues. Quinerly started in the Tigers’ exhibition loss to the Dominican Republic Team, producing 16 points and seven assists.

Chris Ledlum: St. John’s

After originally committing to Tennessee, Ledlum re-entered the portal last month and ultimately headed home to New York. He was second in the Ivy League in scoring (18.8 ppg), behind former Yale guard and current teammate, Jordan Dingle. Ledlum now is the projected starting forward and another 15+ ppg scoring addition to the roster.

Jaykwon Walton: Memphis

After losing Teafale Lenard to the pro ranks, Memphis replaced him with another wing in Walton. The Wichita State transfer has been a constant off-season storyline, going to Alabama and then UCF before settling with the Tigers. In his debut this week, the 6-5 guard went for 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field. There are questions if he’ll get a waiver, though.

Denijay Harris: Arkansas

Coach Eric Musselman is done with the transfer portal. The most recent move was the 6-6 forward from Southern Miss. Harris’ counting stats don’t jump off the screen (8.9 ppg and 5.6 rpg last season), but he will add frontcourt depth. He’s similar to a previous transfer pickup in Trey Wade, who only averaged 3.6 ppg and 2.6 rpg in his lone year but was great in the NCAA Tournament for the Hogs, including 15 points to beat Gonzaga in the Sweet 16.

By George, this is a ‘special place’

Tony Skinn knows all about George Mason. A starter on its famed 2006 Final Four team, Skinn spent the past 10 years as a college hoops assistant, including most recently at Maryland. Now? He gets to go home again, taking over his alma mater in his first stint as a head coach. He explains why it’s an incredible feeling.

Links as you get ready for the conference realignment news this weekend.

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