The Michigan basketball team landed the best transfer portal player in the country this offseason, but there is a chance that he doesn’t actually play for the Wolverines. That player is UAB transfer Yaxel Lendeborg. Lendeborg is committed to Michigan, but he is also testing the NBA Draft waters.

When the offseason hit, the Michigan basketball staff had a specific strategy for the college basketball transfer player. They want to build on what they were able to accomplish this past season.

“Here's what we said as a staff: We wanted to be able to meet the expectations that we've set so far after one year and be able to continue to compete for Big Ten championships and make runs in NCAA tournament,” assistant coach Mike Boynton Jr. said during an appearance on Defend The Block. “And so we wanted to set our roster where our base was that.”

The Wolverines ended up signing one of the best transfer portal classes in the country. Even without Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan is in great shape. However, he is capable of taking the team to the next level.

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“And then beyond that, could we add someone who could take us to another level and who could potentially take us from a team who you're talking about as a contender to possibly being a favorite to win the Big Ten or somewhat expected to at least make the Sweet Sixteen and maybe possibly be playing beyond that and competing for a national championship? And we identified probably five or six guys, and we talked to several of them, but there was one particular that we thought could really move the needle. And so it's in the wait and see,” Boynton continued.

The idea of Lendeborg suiting up for Michigan next year is a good one, but the fact that he might never actually play for the Wolverines did make this move sort of a risk.

“It's a little bit of a calculated risk on one hand, but again, the key was the first part was setting a team and a roster even without that we thought still could compete at a really, really high level and give us a chance to replicate some of the things we did this year, continue to build our fans' interest in Michigan basketball, continue to fill Crisler as often as possible, and then obviously build on for the next class, for the next group of guys to see what Michigan can do,” Boynton said. “And now we go back into the recruiting cycle and do it all over again next year.”

Yaxel Lendeborg has until May 28th to make his decision. With him on the team, the Michigan basketball team would be a popular Final Four pick for next season.