ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Michigan Wolverines star forward Yaxel Lendeborg was named Big Ten Player of the Year after a season in which he contributed across the stat sheet and helped lead the men in maize to the conference’s top seed and a regular-season championship.
With the award, Lendeborg, on March 10, became the first recipient of the honor since Nik Stauskas (2014) and Trey Burke (2013) went back-to-back.
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Following Sunday’s 90-80 victory against the Spartans, Lendeborg told reporters that he had three goals: to win the Big Ten championship, win player of the year, and to win a national championship with the Wolverines.
Lendeborg led all scorers with 27 points while shooting 8-12 from the field, 5-6 from three, and 6-6 from the charity stripe.
It was the first time in his career that he had over 25 points and made five three-pointers.
Lendeborg told the Big Ten Network that the award matters personally but that his goals go beyond individual honors.
“It means the world. I’m just super grateful to have it. I’m super happy that I was named player of the year. There is more to come, you know? When I committed here, I made two or three promises, and I completed two of them so far. Hopefully, we get to complete the third one,” Lendeborg said.
When asked what the third promise was, he said the team’s shared goal plainly, “national championship.”
Lendeborg spoke candidly about his upbringing and a turning point with his mother that pushed him to take school and basketball more seriously.
“It was really eye-opening, very, very emotional. This is the first time I have ever seen my mom cry in front of me, other than when we had lost one of our family members.
You know, she sat me down, she felt like she failed as a mother, and when she told me that, my whole world just crashed, because she was a superhuman, so having her think that of me, it was really heartbreaking.
So, I’m pretty much just about to be the best that I could be for the rest of my life.”
Yaxel Lendeborg
Lendeborg described the practical changes that followed that talk and how schoolwork and basketball began to click for him.
“Well, we ended up moving forward to like a community college, to like take courses, so I can play high school basketball senior year, which is something she always wanted to see me do, was played sports in high school.
Once I started doing that, I started getting more into the books and actually reading more, actually doing homework, studying. And you know, I finally realized, this isn’t really that hard, I don’t know what I was thinking in the first place."
Yaxel Lendeborg
Lendeborg credited teammates and chemistry for the team’s success and said unselfishness made his play possible.
“I would say just the guys around me, you know, they are super unselfish guys, which benefits me a lot, because I played the same way.
I have always been super unselfish, always put the team before me. Just the chemistry for everybody.
It was amazing to be a part of this team. And man, I feel like we are just so versatile as well. We have so many guys that can guard different positions.”
Yaxel Lendeborg
Lendeborg also reflected on his own development and a shift to a more professional mindset.
“I would say as far as my approach towards the basketball game, I feel like I have matured a lot, you know? And just be taking on more of a pro mindset. And starting to realize, like I could actually make this a living for me, my family, and I can play basketball for a very long time at a high level.”
Yaxel Lendeborg
Lendeborg explained why he returned to college to play for Michigan rather than enter the draft last year.
“It was a very long, hard thought decision. I knew I wanted to play for Dusty May; I was a big fan of him already. And I knew the NBA was right there, like just two steps away, so, honestly, I leaned in on my circle and asked for the most advice that I could. I didn’t think I was maturely ready for the NBA, I didn’t think I would be able to handle that lifestyle.”
Yaxel Lendeborg
--> Michigan basketball cleans up Big Ten awards after dominant regular season