In Reply to: Maui Invitational posted by Dr.Bruin on November 25, 2025 at 12:14:30
His demeanor is completely different. Relaxed, almost like he thinks he's a bad-@ss. He almost has a sneer. No more wide-eyed, deer in the headlights, over-amped look, like last year.
As we know, even when he wasn't blocking shots, he was effecting shots. He's so damn effective defending down low. And, Coach May is milking his intimidation for all it's worth. On one play, Mara was in the middle of the key, an Aztec took a shot from the 3 point line. Mara jumped with both hands in the air. I mean, there was no way he was getting to the shot unless he was standing on Manute Bol's shoulders. But, the Aztec missed badly and the announcers (kind of silly) gave Mara credit for affecting the shot. After the game, they asked him about it. He said he was told to do that.
On offense, they fed Mara around the post a lot. But, no back to the basket post-ups. They were trying to draw defenders and feed Mara. He missed a LOT of those shots. Even got one blocked. But, they kept feeding him. Instead of yanking him after any mistake, they are keeping him on the floor, and giving him reps, coaching him up on what they want him to be able to do.