Michigan basketball has been making moves in the transfer portal, but on Saturday, the Wolverines made their most significant move yet, and actually, the most significant move this offseason in college basketball, landing the commitment of Yaxel Lendeborg, the No. 1 ranked player available in the transfer portal according to 247 Sports.
Lendeborg was also considering Auburn and Kentucky, among others. However, Michigan basketball is serious about contending for the top prize in the sport and their transfer portal efforts this week reflect that.
Lendeborg is 6-foot-9 and scored 17.7 points per game for UAB last season in addition to leading the American Conferece in rebounding with 11.4 per game. He also dished out 4.1 assists, averaged 1.8 blocks, 1.7 steals, 3.7 offensive rebounds, shoots 75 percent from the free throw line, and connected on 25 3-pointers (35 percent).
Lendeborg is also considering the NBA draft, so Michigan basketball fans need to keep that in mind. Still, this is a massive commitment for Dusty May and here are three thoughts.
The perfect replacement for Danny Wolf
It felt like finding a like-for-like replacement of Danny Wolf was going to be nearly impossible. Yet, just more than a week after the season ended for Michigan basketball, the Wolverines did it. Hell, they might have upgraded, as crazy as that sounds.
The fact that Michigan basketball has beat out Kentucky for two transfer portal commitments this week alone tells you all you need to know, but Lendeborg is the kind of player that didn't seem possible not that long ago.
Lendeborg is a different player than Wolf. He doesn't shoot the ball as well but is a solid creator and shot 55 percent from 2-point range last season. He's also great at getting to the foul line, passing out of double teams, and frankly, offensive rebounding.
In other words, on the offensive end, Lendeborg can do it all. He reminds me a lot of Johni Broome, the guy in contention for win College Basketball's Player of the Year Award and as long as Lendeborg doesn't leave for the NBA draft before he plays for U-M, he'll be Michigan's next first-round pick.
An elite defender, too
In some ways, Lendeborg will be an upgrade over Wolf. He probably doesn't have the same ball skills and Wolf has a higher upside in the NBA, but in terms of defensive ability, Lendeborg is elite. He's been the American Conference Defensive Player of the Year two years in a row, while scoring over 17 points a game last season.
Michigan needed to replace Wolf. It also needed to get better defensively. A big part of that is being better on the boards and Lendeborg, along with Morez Johnson, achieves that objective.
The Wolverines replaced Wolf's scoring and playmaking, while upgrading on defense. There was one guy available who could do that and Michigan got him.
Michigan's NIL takes a backseat to no one
There have been rumors about it taking $3-4 million in NIL to land Lendeborg, so the fact that Michigan basketball was able to get his commitment tells you how serious the Wolverines are about winning a national title -- not just reaching the Sweet 16.
Dusty May has coached a team to the Final Four. He's taken two different programs to the Sweet 16. It feels like he has a better understanding of what it will take to cut down the nets and these are the kinds of moves you need to make.
You can say it's all about NIL, but it's about more than that with Michigan. May is infectious. People want to play for him. He's also worked tirelessly to put Michigan in a strong position on the NIL front. His work ethic has even been compared to Jim Harbaugh's.
May's drive to win is obsessive. He's recruiting like a man possessed and has the Wolverines well-positioned to be playing on Final Four weekend next season.