The waiting game with Yaxel Lendeborg ended on Tuesday as the top-ranked player in the transfer portal, who committed to Michigan basketball, withdrew his name from the NBA draft.
Dusty May took the risk of recruiting Yaxel, with the NBA decision looming, and won a high-stakes game for his commitment.
May was willing to pay Yaxel something similar to what he would make next season. Lendeborg was a projected first-round pick, however, Danny Wolf turned himself into a projected lottery pick after one season with Dusty May and it's easy to see Lendeborg doing the same.
The 6-foot-9 forward was first-team all-conference in the American last season, in addition to being Defensive Player of the Year. He's the perfect replacement for Wolf. May added two other talented bigs and addressed some of the deficiencies from last season (playmaking, rebounding).
This team, with Yaxel included, has been projected as a No. 2 seed by ESPN in the first bracketology for next season. That doesn't mean anything, other than Michigan basketball has the talent to reach the Final Four -- all because of the genius move by Dusty May.
How will Yaxel fit? What will the rest of the roster look like? There are open spots to add more players but the roster is mostly set and here's an early projection of the starting lineup/rotation.
PG: Elliot Cadeau; LJ Cason and Trey McKenney
The Wolverines prioritized Cadeau right after the season ended. He's an elite playmaker. The hope is that his shooting can improve, and to his credit, he shot 33 percent from 3-point range (0.8 per game) compared to 19 percent when he was All-Freshman in the ACC.
Cadeau will be the starting point guard. Cason could get some minutes as the backup point guard, or even true freshman Trey McKenney.
Either way, with those three options, the Wolverines have more playmaking and 3-point shooting, especially if Cason can be a more consistent perimeter shooter.
That's one of the most reliable aspects of McKenney's game, but he might be used in more of an off-ball role this season.
SG: LJ Cason, Roddy Gayle, Trey McKenney
I could see either of these players winning the other starting guard job. Nimari Burnett will play the role of three-and-D wing, where he exxcelled last season.
McKenney will need to be up to snuff on defense. I have no doubt that Trey will add a spark to the team offensively this season, as a scorer, shooter, and playmaker.
If Gayle can shoot the ball more consistently, he could easily be the other starter. But Cason should take a big leap next season. He's got the ability to be an elite defender/playmaker. He can shoot the ball well, too.
All of these pieces could work as starters, or coming off the bench, and there are sure to be some different combinations as the season goes along.
SF: Nimari Burnett; Winters Grady
Getting Burnett to return was one of the most underrated moves of the offseason for the second year in a row. Old teams win. Burnett will be a veteran player who can do all the little things needed. He's a stellar defender and a proven 3-point shooter, who can space the floor.
Grady has drawn a lot of comparisons to Nik Stauskas. He's an elite shooter and will essentially fill the role of Sam Walters from last season. He's 6-foot-6 and is another freshman who should contribute right away, although defense and 3-point shooting will be the two things that determine how much.
PF: Yaxel Lendeborg, Will Tschetter and Oscar Goodman
Last season for UAB, Yaxel averaged 17.7 points, 11.4 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game. He also averaged 1.8 blocks, 1.7 steals, and 3.7 offensive rebounds per game.
Aday Mara and Morez Johnson are elite on the glass, but so is Lendeborg. He shot 35 percent from 3-point range last season and made 37 triples over the past two seasons. His defense is just as impressive as his offense, which isn't being talked about enough.
Will Tschetter will play at the four and five this season for Michigan. He's a floor-spacer but also a solid rebounder and interior defender.
Goodman, a redshirt freshman, could also be a factor in the front court.
C: Morez Johnson; Aday Mara
Johnson averaged 17 minutes per game last season for Illinois but had solid production with seven points and 6.7 rebounds per game, along with 1.1 blocks.
Johnson also averaged 2.7 offensive rebounds per game, and shot 64.2 percent on 2-point attempts. Mara, a 7-footer, averaged 6.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.6 blocks, and 2.2 offensive rebounds in just 13 minutes per game.
Mara made 59 percent of his 2-point attempts. He needs to get more polished and also needs to be able to play more minutes, but even if he can play just 20 minutes per game, he'll be a force.
You can see a second unit with guys like McKenney, Grady, Tschetter, Mara and whoever else, which is a pretty impressive group.
That's also real depth -- another area where this Michigan basketball roster has improved.