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mgibby's avatar

He's a 5 minute a game player.

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ArmyBruin's avatar

Who else would you have guard Ballo? Mara?

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Bruinbaskets's avatar

The only hope at this point is that ucla picks up a transfer next year? Bona will be gone, but ucla going to need a 5 that can play minutesтАж otherwise IтАЩm not sure what ucla does next year

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ArmyBruin's avatar

They get better. And we donтАЩt know how many slots will be available. The only sure departure is Nwuba. If Mara and Devin Williams stay, they need to get stronger in the weight room. Mick and Savino developed a number of bigs at Cincinnati, but not overnight. Patience is required to let players mature and improve.

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Bruinbaskets's avatar

AgreedтАж do you think bona will stay another year? If he leaves, and Mara becomes the starter, he has a lot of improvement to make besides weight. His lack of speed makes him a massive liability on a defense first team donтАЩt you think?

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ArmyBruin's avatar

I have no idea what Bona will do. I think itтАЩs got to be difficult to hand out offers for slots that may not be available. To have 7 new players in one year is not a usual occurrence. Certainly, itтАЩs better to have them spaced out a bit, but players stayed that could have left. We have 4 kids trying to adapt to the American style of play, half a world away from home, a new culture and a new university. Then, our fans wonder why theyтАЩre not as good as advertised. TheyтАЩre 18 & 19 years old. As far as Mara, he has a ton of work to do physically. IтАЩve also seen him get winded quickly. He does have a nice skill set. But, if youтАЩre thin, youтАЩd better be quick, like Chet Holmgren. We will see how badly he wants to play in the NBA. He certainly has the option of returning to Europe as do the others. And get paid. The offseason could be interesting.

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mgibby's avatar

My question was what is he good at? He always gets 1 stupid illegal screen called on him. He also misses WTF shots. The truth is, the Bruins don't have a legit back up center. But I don't think that Mara misses that dunk.

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ArmyBruin's avatar

HeтАЩs a solid post defender. He actually had more rebounds than Bona. As far as picks, heтАЩs decent. Bona also gets calls for moving picks. ThereтАЩs also his physical size and strength when facing a guy like Ballo. In that scenario, heтАЩs our only backup. He was needed only because the refs screwed Bona.

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Chenalex's avatar

Mara wouldn't have been in position to get that rebound.

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