Yaxel Lendeborg’s winding journey through college basketball will take a final stop in Ann Arbor this season, as the 6-foot-9 forward will star for Dusty May’s second Michigan squad.
Lendeborg’s journey from barely playing organized basketball in high school to the most significant transfer signing of the summer was only made possible by a combination of connections, happenstance, and luck.
Lendeborg was a two-time NJCAA All-American at Arizona Western, a two-time All-AAC player at UAB, and could have been a first-round pick in the NBA Draft. Instead, due to a court case providing an additional year of eligibility, he’ll have the chance to play in Ann Arbor for a coach who has caught his eye as a viewer, competitor, and now recruit.
“I already liked Dusty May as a coach,” Lendeborg said on Defend the Block. “My first year watching basketball, me and my friends at JUCO, we’re watching March Madness, we’re watching FAU… So I just started to like how he coached his team, how he looked when he was coaching, because a lot of coaches are always just fired up and angry. He just seems so cool, calm and collected. And that’s how I try to be as a player as well.”
That Final Four run introduced the world to May, but his connection to Lendeborg grew from there. FAU and UAB played a pair of games during the 2023-24 season, including a 17-point, 21-rebound, and 3-assist performance by Lendeborg in a 76-73 overtime win, and May also had ties to the Blazer program.
Lendeborg’s trainer at UAB was former Blazer point guard and Director of Player Development, Aaron Johnson, an honorable mention All-American in 2011 who happened to play at UAB during May’s three-year tenure as an assistant coach.
Johnson and Lendeborg watched May’s Michigan teams from afar, envisioning Lendeborg in Danny Wolf’s shoes.
“Coach AJ, who’s my trainer, and I talked about Dusty and the way he’s playing Danny Wolf a lot,” Lendeborg said. “We just kind of envisioned me in that particular role, just so I was watching a lot of games, just seeing how they play. And, you know, became a Michigan fan, I guess you can say.
“I definitely knew about Coach May and his system. So I was super excited, seeing, and obviously, when I envision myself, and then when the transfer portal opened up, that’s why he kind of had like a head start.”
Dusty May Promo!
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