BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) 鈥� Yaxel Lendeborg began to chuckle at the podium when Michigan center Aday Mara expressed dismay in not understanding the meaning of the word 鈥渕ercenary.鈥�
Rather than leave his Spanish-born teammate hanging, Lendeborg jumped in, answering the question that鈥檚 hovered over the Wolverines program 鈥� and many others 鈥� in the modern age of NILs, transfer portals, bidding wars and constant shuffling of rosters.
鈥淚 think the transfer portal helps out a lot of kids, especially me,鈥� said the who, along with Mara, is among Michigan’s four key offseason additions.
鈥淏eing in this situation, I鈥檝e had the best year of my life,鈥� he added. 鈥淚f that鈥檚 what they want to call mercenary, I would love to be a mercenary. That鈥檚 cool with me.鈥�
However long it took Lendeborg to find the spotlight, or finally have the spotlight find him after three junior college seasons at Arizona Western and two more at Birmingham-Alabama, the 23-year-old multi-talented power forward is thriving on the big stage of the .
Nicknamed 鈥淭he Dominican LeBron,鈥� Lendeborg was a force in leading the Midwest Region鈥檚 top-seeded team in overwhelming its first two opponents in Buffalo, New York, and advancing to the Sweet Sixteen. Michigan (33-3) will play fourth-seeded Alabama (25-9) in Chicago on Friday.
Creating stirs on and off the court
Lendeborg鈥檚 presence and persona have been impossible to miss since Selection Sunday.
It was a week he began by creating a headline-grabbing stir in revealing he chose to accept . And it鈥檚 one he closed on Saturday with a 25-point outing, punctuated by a massive dunk, in .
鈥淭wo words, Dominican LeBron,鈥� teammate Nimari Burnett said of Lendeborg鈥檚 dunk in transition keying a decisive second-half surge.
鈥淚t鈥檚 as simple as those two words, but also just his aggression going to the basket,鈥� Burnett added. 鈥淲e were up by 10 or so, but it gave us another boost to extend the lead.鈥�
Sensing the momentum Lendeborg created, coach Dusty May immediately applied the screws by pressuring Saint Louis coming up the court and suffocating any last gasp of a comeback.
For Lendeborg, the dunk came in light of concerns he expressed over Michigan鈥檚 second-half-starting sluggishness that cost the Wolverines in a 80-72 loss to Purdue in the Big Ten championship tournament title game.
鈥淲e鈥檙e just learning from our mistakes against Purdue. We let them step away,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hen (Saint Louis) started going on their run, it went back to leaning on each other and playing poised and believing we can compete with anybody.鈥�
Adding size and aggression
This is the type of aggression and single-minded focus , and in the aftermath of a 78-65 loss to Auburn in the round of 16 a year ago. The Wolverines withered in being outscored 39-17 over the final 12 minutes.
In response, they added size in 7-foot-3 Mara (out of UCLA) and 6-9 forwards Yendeborg and Morez Johnson Jr. (Illinois), and a play-maker in guard Elliot Cadeau (North Carolina), who became Michigan鈥檚 seventh player to top 200 assists in a season.
The additions have so far paid off on a team that鈥檚 matched a program record for victories, went 9-2 against ranked opponents and became the Big Ten鈥檚 first to go unbeaten in conference play since Indiana in 1975-76.
鈥淲e鈥檙e a better team. We鈥檙e better coaches. We鈥檙e better players. That鈥檚 just part of the growth process,鈥� said Day, who guided Florida Atlantic to a Final Four appearance in 2023 during his previous four-year stint in Boca Raton. 鈥淲e鈥檝e earned the right to go to Chicago.鈥�
was wowed by the Wolverines鈥� depth of talent, unrelenting attack and what he referred to as 鈥渁n intelligently constructed roster.鈥�
鈥淥bviously, Michigan has great NIL, but you see a lot of teams that are poorly constructed that pay a lot of money,鈥� Schertz said. 鈥淒usty鈥檚 team, the pieces really fit well together.鈥�
Burnett, a graduate student completing his third season at Michigan, can see the difference from last season.
鈥淚 think with this group, our size, our length, our speed, you combine that and we鈥檙e going to Chicago looking forward to the matchup and ready to come out with a win,鈥� Burnett said.
The comment caught the attention of Lendeborg, who immediately corrected Burnett by holding up two fingers and saying: 鈥渢wo, two wins.鈥�
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