Michigan basketball’s Yaxel Lendeborg surprising Dusty May with early versatility

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The big offseason pickup for Michigan basketball this year was former UAB star Yaxel Lendeborg -- the top overall player in the transfer portal. Thought to be heading to the NBA, Lendeborg went to the scouting combine but ended up withdrawing from the NBA draft to come to play for Dusty May and the Wolverines.

May was already quite familiar with Lendeborg, having played against him when he was the coach at Florida Atlantic. So, naturally, once he got the opportunity to recruit him to Ann Arbor, he made quick work of it. And now he's got a playmaker who can do a little bit of everything for the maize and blue.

"It seems like he was at UAB for a long time, and he was a thorn in our side. And they were one of the better teams in the league," May said." At the same time, we were one of the better teams in the league. So we always felt like when we played Dan, he was two of the more talented teams in the league. And Yaxel had some really unique abilities where we knew he was a really good player, and you could drive him.

"He could score a number of ways, but he could get to loose basketballs. He was an excellent rebounder, and we just felt like he got better every year. He’s only been playing basketball for a few years, and so we felt like his ceiling was extremely high. Putting him in the environment to play gives us the size, strength, and athleticism of our roster would help him. But yeah, it’s odd to think that he’s playing with us, but I do think that he admired the way our guys played the game and how connected our group was at FAU, so there was always a mutual respect from both of us."

Even having coached against him and having recruited him, there was a lot that May didn't realize he was getting in Lendeborg. So when the star forward got to campus, May was surprised, in a good way.

"We’ve learned a lot about Yaxel that we didn’t know before we signed him. I do know that he’s already changed his day-to-day routine. I mean, for example, Nimari Burnett has a really regimented workout routine, and yoga and stretching and prehabilitation stuff, and I think probably 90% of the days, Yaxel’s been just with him, almost like just mirroring his pre-practice and pre-workout routine, and so there’s some things like that that he’s improving on.

"The one thing about Yaxel is I do know that when the lights are on, he moves better, he’s quicker, he’s faster, he’s more athletic, so he even has another big jump to make, but it’s his versatility. He played a different position at UAB, and he was incredibly successful there. And he helped them win a lot of ballgames, but we’re playing a little bit differently, and it’s probably been, I’ve been impressed. He’s further ahead vs. where I thought he would be at this point."

Fans will get the opportunity to see Lendeborg in action on November 3 when the Wolverines host Oakland for the 2025-26 season opener.

This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Yaxel Lendeborg’s versatility already shining for Michigan hoops