Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg was a blur in transition this week, but he couldn’t escape the eyes of FOX Sports play-by-play announcer, Gus Johnson, landing him on the weekly “GOT IT” team.
Lendeborg flew up and down the court, making plays on both sides of the ball to lift Michigan to a 74-62 victory over Ohio State on Friday night.
“Look at the rim,” Johnson said after Lendeborg threw down a dunk in the second half. “Look at the backboard. It’s still shaking!”
“I just wanted to stick it to Mr. Colin White,” Lendeborg said. “We got bench players talking like starters. That was pretty much my motivation for the entire game — just to shut him up. You know, show him who the real team is in this rivalry.”
White, a Buckeyes’ sophomore who averages nine minutes per game, called out Michigan after Ohio State’s game against Minnesota last Tuesday, saying, “We hate Michigan, so we’re coming out for blood. We’re going up there to win, and we’re going to have fun doing it.”
Despite being new to the Michigan-OSU rivalry — Lendeborg transferred to UM after two years at UAB — he defended the maize and blue with pride. He finished Friday’s game with 18 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Lendeborg didn’t take long to quiet White, scoring Euro-stepping past him for his first basket. Lendeborg was opportunistic in transition. He threw lobs to Morez Johnson Jr. and Roddy Gayle Jr. for easy dunks. He finished an athletic, up-and-under layup, off a steal and pass from Elliot Cadeau.
He had a smooth give-and-go with Nimari Burnett to put the Wolverines up 10 with 4:52 remaining.
“This team is super unselfish,” Lendeborg said. “Every play we make is to win. It’s not for ourselves. Nobody has a selfish bone in their body. When you have a locker room like that, it really pushes you to be your best.”
Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg lobs it up to Roddy Gayle Jr. for an alley oop vs. Ohio State
Lendeborg leads UM in scoring with 14.4 points, but the Wolverines are riding that team-oriented mantra to an 18-1 start.
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