CHICAGO — Late in Michigan’s win over Alabama, game already in hand, Wolverines star Yaxel Lendeborg stared up deep into the United Center stands, admiring it all. Ten months ago, the then-22-year-old had been faced with the decision of a lifetime. He had gone from playing 11 total high school basketball games to junior college to UAB to the cusp of the NBA. Had he stayed in the NBA draft, he had a great chance of being picked in the first round, at worst likely landing in the first 10 or so picks of the second. Instead, he passed on playing in arenas like the one he starred in Friday night in favor of one more year of college; the ultimate bet-on-yourself moment to prove his mettle against college basketball’s best before making the jump to the pros.
“It was a really big trust in myself that I put into coming back to college,” Lendeborg says. “I could have easily messed up my draft stock. I came here wanting to be a champion, wanted to put myself on a higher stage and prove myself even more.”
