Aday Mara isn’t just growing into his role at Michigan - he’s expanding it.
The 7-foot-3 junior center, known for living in the paint during his first two seasons at UCLA, is now stepping out beyond the arc with confidence. And on Sunday against Ohio State, that evolution took a big step forward. Mara, who had never made a 3-pointer in his college career, knocked down not one, but two from deep - a clear sign that his game, and Michigan’s trust in it, is evolving.
“Obviously, I’ve been practicing 3-pointers,” Mara said after the game. “I don’t want to rush or take bad shots, but I saw it was open and just shot it.
I’m confident with my shot. It’s always been part of my game - I just haven’t used it the past two years.”
That confidence was on display in the first half. His first make came off a smooth pick-and-pop on the left wing, where graduate forward Yaxel Lendeborg found him wide open.
Mara stepped into the shot like he’d been doing it for years. A couple of minutes later, he got another clean look at the top of the key - and buried it.
Now, let’s be honest: Mara isn’t exactly known for his shooting touch. He came into the game 0-for-4 from three and shoots under 50% from the free-throw line.
But that 2-for-3 performance wasn’t just about the numbers - it was about the belief behind the shot. Mara missed his first three of the game badly, the kind of miss that might’ve made some coaches pull the plug.
But Michigan didn’t flinch. Neither did Mara.
And that trust paid off.
Michigan head coach Dusty May put it best: “We’ve spent a lot of time working on his threes, because we want that to be a part of his game going forward. Sometimes, if you give a guy a little bit of ice cream, they’ll eat the broccoli and the protein to get to that point.”
Well, on Sunday, Mara was eating everything. He finished with a career-high 24 points, shooting 9-for-13 inside the arc with a handful of emphatic dunks to go along with his two triples. It was a full-course performance from a big man who’s showing he can do more than just dominate the paint.
And Mara isn’t the only Wolverine stretching his game.
Sophomore forward Morez Johnson Jr. didn’t attempt a single three during his freshman year at Illinois. This season, he’s already knocked down five on 13 attempts - including clutch ones in tight games against Nebraska and Wisconsin. Johnson’s perimeter shot isn’t just a novelty; it’s becoming a legitimate part of Michigan’s offensive arsenal.
Then there’s junior guard Elliot Cadeau. After shooting 33.7% from deep on limited attempts at North Carolina last year, Cadeau has nearly doubled his volume in Ann Arbor - and improved his accuracy to 39.6%.
The freedom Michigan’s coaches have given him is paying off, and it’s not just about stats. It’s about rhythm, confidence, and being a threat every time he touches the ball.
That’s been a consistent theme under Dusty May. He wants five players on the floor who can shoot it - or at least keep defenses honest.
“We want all five guys on the court to be capable of knocking down threes,” May said back in December. “Even the guys that don’t shoot them in games are shooting them in practice every day.
The end goal is to be the absolute best team and be able to win in any situation. To do that, we need a whole Swiss Army knife of weapons - and we’re still developing that.”
That development is already showing. Mara, Johnson, and Cadeau - all transfers - are thriving in a system that encourages growth, not limits it. And while it remains to be seen how often Mara will let it fly from deep going forward, the fact that Michigan trusts him to take those shots says a lot about the culture May is building.
This isn’t just about a 7-footer hitting a couple of threes. It’s about a team empowering its players to evolve - and becoming more dangerous because of it.