Why Yaxel Lendeborg Has 'Extra Juice' Facing Alabama in NCAA Tournament

CHICAGO -- Alabama basketball is back in the Sweet 16 for the fourth consecutive season after dominating back-to-back games in Tampa last weekend. The 4-seed Crimson Tide's reward? A virtual road game against 1-seed Michigan, featuring one of college basketball's best players in a matchup nightmare.

"Yaxel's [Lendeborg], one of the best players in the country," Alabama head coach Nate Oats said Thursday. "Played right in our home state at UAB, where we knew about him. Michigan did a good job to get him. He's super versatile."

The former UAB Blazer entered the transfer portal after back-to-back First Team All-American Athletic Conference seasons as one of the best players on the market. Alabama checked in with the power forward but quickly understood he was outside the Crimson Tide's market for acquisitions.

"We did make a call," Oats admitted. "It never got very deep. I think there were some programs that were in a little deeper with a lot more money at the time. It's one of those, you kind of call, see where the situation is at. Probably wasn't something we were going to be able to do, so didn't spend a lot of time on it."

Lendeborg told a different story ahead of the game, saying he was hoping to hear from the Crimson Tide after playing three seasons in the Magic City.

"Yeah, once I entered the transfer portal out of UAB, I was hoping to get recruited by Alabama," Lendeborg said. "And when I didn't, it kind of hurt me a little bit. Not in a way that I can say I hate them and all that. It's just that it bothered me a little bit."

"There's going to be a lot of extra juice for sure," Lendeborg continued, on getting the chance to play the Crimson Tide in the NCAA Tournament. "I know I'm going to try my best to be the best player on the floor tomorrow. All it is is extra motivation, just not in the sense where I'm like, this is what you guys missed out on, but like, you guys could have at least called or something like that. Something like that. But yeah, there's no bad blood. Maybe I didn't fit the system or anything like that. But I'm excited to see him."

Michigan head coach Dusty May stood alongside his friend Nate Oats but supported his player finding extra motivation ahead of the Sweet 16 matchup.

"I'm going to ride with that and support him. Nate and I being friends, we talked through that process," May said. "And don't tell Yax, but they did try to recruit him."

The transfer portal market went off the rails last offseason with Lendeborg as the class's crown jewel. He recently said Kentucky offered him $7-$9 million, a claim Wildcats coach Mark Pope denied in his final radio show of the year.

No matter the actual value, Lendeborg's been worth every penny for the Wolverines this season. The senior started in 35 of Michigan's 36 games, averaging 14.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.3 blocks, and 1.1 steals on his way to a consensus First Team All-American selection.

The 6-foot-9, 230-pound wing uses his outstanding athleticism to guard multiple positions, making him a unique chess piece for Michigan head coach Dusty May. Add an improved 3-point shot on the offensive end, Lendeborg's made 57-of-158 from behind the line, doubling his makes and increasing his percentage in the process, and he becomes the x-factor for the Wolverines on a nightly basis.

The electric wing's coming off a strong game in the Round of 32, scoring 25 points with three made 3-pointers, six rebounds, two assists and a block in a 95-72 victory over nine-seeded Saint Louis.

Alabama is particularly thin in the front court this season, making the upcoming matchup against Michigan's powerful front line all the more concerning. Oats admitted there is no perfect defensive strategy against a team featuring the depth of talent the Wolverines have.

"You're going to have to hope he misses some shots because he's a super athletic basketball player with a lot of size that's playing the 3 and the 4 for them," Oats said. "So at the 3 he kind of overpowers you. At the 4, he still overpowers you, but he's a little quicker. So you're going to have to guard him with guys that are big enough, strong enough, and athletic enough, and there's not many of those so you're going to have to get some help from teammates on the floor."

"Against most good teams, you've got to figure out what you can give up because you're not taking away everything," Oats continued. "So we can't take away all their rim shots, take away all their drives, take away all their threes, take away all their post-ups. You've got to give something up. So you've got to figure out what it is that makes the most sense to give up."

Lendeborg's gone for double-digit scoring in 26 of the Wolverines 36 games. He's had five games this season where he shot perfectly from two-point range and has eight games with three or more makes from beyond the arc, showcasing his ability to score in a variety of ways.

"Yeah, he's definitely the Big 10 Player of the Year, obviously a great player, going to be a good NBA player, really been watching some film on him," Alabama guard Amari Allen said. "I feel like, as a unit, we know what he likes to do. We know what he's not so good at. So we're going to really try to make it uncomfortable for him,"

Alabama forwards emphasized awareness and physicality when asked about Lendeborg as they understand the task at hand. Oats discussed the importance of keeping things mixed up defensively, including potentially putting guards on him to disrupt his rhythm.

Lendeborg scored in double figures in all three of Michigan's losses, but the forward shot under 50-percent from the field in losses to Wisconsin and Duke showing he can be rattled.

"We've got guys with size, some toughness, some competitiveness about them that I think will do a good job," Oats said. "And doing a good job on him is probably not holding him scoreless, making him take tough shots. He's going to make some of them. You can't give him anything easy."

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