Coming off a Sweet Sixteen run in his first year in Ann Arbor, Dusty May and his staff wasted no time reshaping the roster. The Wolverines landed four players in the portal, with the most highly regarded being UAB forward Yaxel Lendeborg. As the top-ranked player available, May didn’t hesitate to go all-in.

“We felt like this was a year we could gamble,” May said on Defend the Block, referring to the staff’s decision to wait for a top-tier talent rather than filling spots early. “Yax raises our ceiling exponentially.”

May had a leg up in the recruitment, as he faced Lendeborg twice while coaching at Florida Atlantic and had long-standing relationships with the UAB coaching staff. When Lendeborg entered the portal, May and his assistants immediately traveled to meet him face-to-face.

“We

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