Michigan head coach Dusty May has put together quite the transfer class for Michigan for next season, headlined by one five-star transfer from UAB, Yaxel Lendeborg. The only catch with Lendeborg 's commitment is that he has also declared for the NBA Draft, which means he may never even suit up for Michigan next season.
Declaring for the NBA Draft is very different in college basketball than declaring for the NFL Draft in college football. There is a date that players have to declare for the draft by, just like in football, but just because they declare does not mean they forgo their eligibility. A player can choose to withdraw from the draft by a certain date set and continue their college career.
For Lendeborg, he has decided to stay in the NBA Draft process, even though he is committed to Michigan, and it seems like he is pretty focused on his future professional career, which should be worrisome to Michigan and its fans.
"With Yaxel Lendeborg, my sources tell me he's very focused and leaning towards staying in the NBA Draft" - @GoodmanHoops
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) April 17, 2025
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Michigan 5-star transfer Yaxel Lendeborg is very focused on the NBA Draft
According to Jeff Goodman with the Field of 68, he is hearing from sources close to Lendeborg that he is very focused on the NBA Draft process even while committed to Michigan. It seems that Lendeborg is feeling out how he may fair in the draft and if that doesn't work out, he has a very lucrative deal to go and play for Michigan next season.
Goodman said that even though he has signed with Michigan, he is leaning towards staying in the NBA Draft, which means a player that Michigan plans to pay a lot of money, may not even play for them next season. As one of the top targets in the transfer portal, Michigan fans were elated to land Lendeborg, but now he may never even wear a Michigan uniform.
The five-star transfer averaged 17.7 points per game, 11.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.8 blocks, and 1.7 steals in just his sophomore season at UAB. He averaged about 37 minutes a night when playing as the top scorer for the Blazers. With Michigan losing a fair amount of its scoring power to the transfer portal and the NBA, Lendeborg would come and be the centerpiece for the Wolverines.
Now May and the Michigan fanbase just have to sit back and see if Lendeborg will go to the BA or come to his backup option adn play for the Wolverines next season. When the news hits, check back with GBM Wolverines for more details.