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UCLA Men's Basketball: First Look At New Arrivals In Practice Gear

Mara, Buyuktuncel are now in the mix...
Jason Fray|
UCLA Men's Basketball: First Look At New Arrivals In Practice Gear
UCLA Men's Basketball: First Look At New Arrivals In Practice Gear

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With roughly six weeks until UCLA's first exhibition game (Oct. 31 versus Cal-State Dominguez Hills), Mick Cronin's team is finally complete. 

The 2023 star-studded recruiting class had not yet been fully on campus over the last few months. 

Berke Buyuktuncel and Aday Mara had both been overseas in their respective countries. Meanwhile, the Bruins were full-go for summer workouts -- building team chemistry and learning the specifics instituted by Cronin and his staff. As of this past Tuesday, UCLA finally had its full team out on the practice floor: 

UCLA's social media team posted pictures of the team from practice. In it, you can see images of Mara (yellow jersey, No. 15) and Buyuktuncel (Blue jersey, holding a basketball while posting up teammate Jan Vide). 

More images were captured a day later. In these, you can see Mara and Buyuktuncel tussling with one another underneath the basket. Mara is trying to gain position with the ball while Buyuktuncel and an unnamed UCLA teammate are sandwiching Mara in the post with their hands up. 

A final image -- with Croin in the foreground and Mara in the background -- really does show how tall the 7-foot-3 center is. 

Surely, this is a process for both big men; when setting foot on UCLA's campus a few weeks ago, this was the first time reportedly that either had been in the United States. Days later, both are enrolled in the country's No. 1 ranked public university, playing for the reigning Pac-12 Champions. 

Mara even went with teammates to watch the Women's Volleyball Team square off with USC in Pauley Pavilion this past Wednesday. Though this is a guess at this point, it appears as if both are acclimating well to their new surroundings in Los Angeles. 

Don't forget to join our community at LA Sports Report, where we celebrate all things Bruins! 

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Jason Fray
JASON FRAY

Jason Fray is a proud native of Los Angeles. After graduating from UCLA in 2011, he's written for a number of publications -- including Bleacher Report, FOX Sports, Saturday Down South, and New Arena. In his downtime, he enjoys writing scripts, going to shows, weekly pub trivia with the boys, trying the best hole-in-the-wall food spots around town, and traveling (22 countries & counting). 

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