Copyright M Live Michigan
ANN ARBOR — Yaxel Lendeborg described the high-school version of himself as “a terrible kid.” He was not mean-spirited; more of a class clown. Teachers told his mom he was smart and respectful but goofed around too much. He played video games constantly, sometimes as often as 19 hours in a day. Because of poor grades, he was ineligible to play basketball most of his high school career. Graduating seemed like a long shot. Before his senior year, he and his mom, Yissel Raposo, had what Lendeborg called “a real heart-to-heart conversation; really emotional.” They both cried, especially when she brought up her late father. He and Lendeborg had been very close; he was his first father figure, as Lendeborg’s actual dad was playing basketball in another country when he was born. Papa, as Lendeborg called his grandpa, was the first person to take him to a basketball court. Papa was also very strict. He preached a strong work ethic, which included taking school seriously. Raposo reminded her son of that and asked, in the Spanish they spoke at home, how Papa would have felt about his recent choices. “That really stuck with me,” Lendeborg said. “I vowed to be a better person.” He delivered on that promise. Lendeborg graduated not just from high school but from the University of Alabama at Birmingham too, with a stop at a junior college in between. His play on the basketball court was phenomenal throughout, especially for someone with relatively little experience in organized games. After passing on the NBA in the spring, Lendeborg is ready for one memorable season at Michigan, which starts Monday in the regular-season opener at home against Oakland (8:30 p.m. ET, FS1). Lendeborg is a 6-foot-9 forward ranked by multiple outlets as the top player to transfer schools this offseason. He’s Michigan’s first preseason All-American in 12 years. Last season he led UAB in points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals per game. Duke’s Cooper Flagg, the eventual No. 1 draft pick, was the only other player to do that. Two Division I players in history have tallied 600 points, 400 rebounds and 150 assists in a season: Lendeborg last year and Larry Bird. ESPN projects him as the No. 14 pick in the next NBA draft. It’s a remarkable rise for someone who didn’t play a full season of basketball until four years ago. Lendeborg was born in Puerto Rico, the first child between Raposo and Okary Lendeborg, both of whom had played for the Dominican Republic national basketball team. Raposo also played for the country’s volleyball team. She was playing both sports as a college student at the American University of Puerto Rico when her son was born. He was “the baby of the college,” she said, often with a ball in his hands. She graduated two years later and, after learning about a job from a friend, moved the family to Cincinnati. This was a sports family — three daughters would come — and the kids were encouraged to try a bunch. Lendeborg played baseball and football for a couple of years, soccer once. He played basketball but usually outside and never on an organized team that practiced. “Having fun with my friends is all it was,” he said. When Lendeborg was 8, his dad’s job brought them to Pennsauken, New Jersey, just outside Philadelphia. Lendeborg kept playing sports casually. He was cut from the middle-school team and dropped from the Pennsauken High School freshman team for not meeting academic requirements. Grades kept him off the court the next couple of years as well. “I didn’t really have the will to do school or better myself in general,” Lendeborg told the Memphis Commercial Appeal in 2022. “I just didn’t think I was good enough for anything.” After that difficult, important conversation with his mom the summer before his senior year, Lendeborg enrolled at nearby Camden Community College. It was the same curriculum in a different building, away from his friends and other distractions. His grades skyrocketed, allowing him to return to the basketball court for the second half of the season. He ended up playing in just 12 games but performed well. For years, when asked what he wanted to be when he grew up, Lendeborg gave a three-letter answer: NBA. At 16, he was 6-foot-4 with strong athletic genes; both of his parents are that height. “I do have some natural ability that just comes from my parents I guess,” he said. “I’m super grateful about that.” He didn’t take the sport — or anything for that matter — seriously enough to capitalize on those gifts. Upon graduating from high school in 2020, it was time for another lesson from mom. She brought him to her job, in a factory that makes phone accessories. Is this what you want? she asked. It was not. Through family connections, he earned a spot in a basketball showcase in New York. Despite staying up late the previous night on his PlayStation and getting “dragged” to the camp, scared and worried, he shined. All the way across the country in Yuma, Arizona, the coaching staff at Arizona Western (junior) College acquired about 30 seconds of Lendeborg hoops highlights. The film was sent by a “friend of a friend” of a staff member with connections to Spanish-speaking players in November 2020. According to Arizona Western College (AWC) coach Kyle Isaacs, an assistant at the time who became the head coach the next season, the contact said, “There’s this kid: He’s 6-8; he looks intriguing. You guys interested?” Because of COVID, the AWC staff had filled its recruiting class that year mostly by watching clips on social media. Even by that standard, Lendeborg’s tape wasn’t much to go on. The coaches couldn’t find anything about him online. “We had an extra scholarship and we needed another kid with size,” Isaacs said. “He was a throw-in, basically. Recruiting him was, ‘If you want it, you can come. If you don’t, we’ve already got our team kind of finalized.’” Lendeborg did not want to go. Raposo knew it was hard to leave her family in the Dominican when she attended college, but felt it was the right move for her son’s development on and off the court. “I was freshly turned 18,” Lendeborg said. “This is going to be my first time away from my mom. It was awful. I pretty much cried the whole flight there. As soon as I get to Arizona, it was terrible. It was just straight desert. There’s no trees. It was brutal.” Once again, mom knew best. Lendeborg left AWC as a two-time junior college All-American who was more emotionally and physically mature than he was when he arrived. Sifting through old box scores with Isaacs, he’s quick to note AWC did not pad stats. Lendeborg really did have 28 points and 31 (THIRTY ONE!) rebounds in a game, one of six during his final season in which he grabbed at least 19 boards. He shot 72 percent from the field that year and averaged 17.2 points and a junior-college best 13 rebounds per game. Lendeborg was a natural rebounder. “There wasn’t really anything that we had to do to teach him,” Isaacs said. “I watched a little video about Dennis Rodman speaking about how he used to get the timing down on rebounds,” Lendeborg said. “And that’s something that stuck with me. … I’m not the most athletic, you know, so I’ve just got outsmart the (other players).” He made it sound simple, like anyone could watch “a little video” to master a task. Isaacs did incentive Lendeborg by striking a deal: Whenever he grabbed a defensive rebound, he could keep the ball and play point guard that possession. Passing is Lendeborg’s favorite thing to do on the court. Isaacs told him at one point he needed to be more selfish as a scorer to best help the team win. One time, when Lendeborg was maybe 7, a few friends called him a ball hog and claimed they didn’t want to play with him. “That’s why he started to assist,” Raposo said. “He likes assists better (than points) — passing the ball, playing together.” Isaacs estimated Lendeborg was under 200 pounds upon arrival in Arizona and left — after three seasons, the first of which was shortened by COVID — listed at 230. It was time to level up, and he picked UAB. He made the All-American Athletic Conference team and was the league’s defensive player of the year in both of his seasons there. UAB went 47-25, reaching the NCAA Tournament in 2024 and winning two NIT games last season. “Yaxel could do just about everything,” said Temple head coach Adam Fisher, who faced Lendeborg three times over the past two years. “He can rebound, push the ball, score inside, midrange, he started to make some 3s. He was a dominant player in our league.” Lendeborg called UAB head coach Andy Kennedy “a figure figure” and credited him for his continued development. It was at UAB that, for the first time, he had an organized offseason workout plan. He was ready for another upgrade in competition and spent a couple of months this spring debating between the NBA draft and playing for Dusty May at Michigan. Lendeborg faced May’s Florida Atlantic team twice two seasons ago and appreciated the coach’s sideline demeanor: supporting his players, not yelling at them. May and some of the other coaches he brought with him from FAU had seen up close Lendeborg’s elite competitiveness and nose for the basketball. Lendeborg will receive a substantial NIL package at Michigan but said his decision was not about the money. “He is the least recruited player on our roster as far as our pitch,” May said. The two met for about an hour in Chicago after Lendeborg entered the transfer portal. He quickly chose Michigan over Kentucky and Auburn. That became final when he announced May 27 that he was withdrawing from the draft. Lendeborg was drawn to Michigan partly because of how May deployed Danny Wolf as a supersized facilitator last season. Lendeborg packs his own playmaking skills into a big man’s body. “He’s as much of a guard as just about anyone on our roster,” May said. He’s earned rave reviews from his new teammates and coaches. “His ability to process the game and make tough decisions look simple has been really impressive,” said assistant coach Justin Joyner. “Oh, man, he can do a little bit of everything,” said assistant Drew Williamson. “He wants his teammates to have success and that’s been a blessing.” Senior guard Roddy Gayle Jr. pointed out Lendeborg’s ridiculous 7-foot-4 wingspan and how that contributes to him being a “terrific defender” capable of banging with a center in the paint or picking up a point guard full court. Lendeborg wants to be the national defensive player of the year and Big Ten player of the year while helping Michigan at minimum reach the Final Four. He posted 31 points and 12 rebounds in his first game in a Michigan uniform, an exhibition against Cincinnati on Oct. 17, yet May said he didn’t even think Lendeborg played all that well. “That just shows how high of a ceiling he has,” May said. “He’s a unique talent.” Lendeborg once again topped all players with 25 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday’s exhibition against No. 5 St. John’s. Taking advantage of Michigan’s resources, paying more attention to sleep and nutrition, and shadowing veteran guard Nimari Burnett — who incorporates yoga into a meticulous “prehab” routine — have made Lendeborg’s lofty goals more attainable. “I’ve become more of a pro,” he said about his several months so far in Ann Arbor. He’s still goofy, which has made him a favorite of the program’s social media team. At Michigan’s media day, he was game to take a microphone and interview teammates about random topics. Lendeborg is an older college player — he turned his jersey number, 23, last month — who still has untapped potential. That should become evident this season at Michigan, the culmination of a fascinating college basketball career. “It’s a blessing to be honest with you,” Lendeborg said when asked to reflect on that journey. “All glory to God and thank you to my mom as well for helping me out and digging me out of the hole that I was in. “(I’m) super grateful to be in this position and I’m looking forward to doing more.”
