Wolverine Digest

Michigan's top transfer commit lights up NBA Draft combine shooting drills

Jerred Johnson|
Chris Jones-Imagn Images

Dusty May's top transfer portal commit Yaxel Lendeborg is still torn between the NBA or fulfilling his commitment to the Michigan Wolverines. He has stated openly that he will go through the entire pre-draft process and the feedback he receives from NBA front offices will ultimately guide his final decision. Michigan fans have to be somewhat rooting for him to falter a bit in the pre-draft drills and scrimmages in hopes that he'll spend a year in Ann Arbor. So far that has not been the case and Yaxel has performed at an elite level that has to have May and his staff sweating a bit.

On the first day of combined shooting drills, Lendeborg finished tied for 8th with an overall shooting percentage of an astonishing 69%. This was a culmination of all of his shooting drills which included three-point range, mid-range, and painted area shots. This shows the incredible skill possessed by Yaxel and validates the reason he was rated the top overall player in the portal. It also makes Michigan fans worry that he may shoot up high enough in the pre-draft mocks that he foregoes a season with the Wolverines and takes his talents to the professional level.

May and his staff have openly discussed the potential of pursuing another scoring option in the portal with the worry that Yaxel may never actually step foot in Crisler Center. So far, those options seem secondary to continuing to recruit him to play for the maize and blue. If he does pursue the pro route there may not be many portal options left for May and his staff. The Michigan coaching staff is in an unenviable position of wanting what's best for their guy at the pre-draft workouts but also wanting him to get feedback that pushes him into their starting lineup. Within the next week or so Yaxel should have enough information to make the decision that either pushes Michigan to the top of national championship contenders or leaves fans wondering "what if".

May
Michigan head coach Dusty May talks to assistant coach Mike Boynton Jr. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Jerred Johnson
JERRED JOHNSON

Jerred Johnson has served in the United States military for over 23 years. He has a Bachelors in Marketing, a Masters in Management and is in the final phases of completing his Doctorate in Business Administration.

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