The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1540586
38 THE WOLVERINE ❱ NOVEMBER 2025 2025-26 BASKETBALL PREVIEW BY THE NUMBERS No. 1 Transfer in the portal is where graduate forward Yaxel Lendeborg ranked this past offsea- son, per On3. The 6-foot-9, 240-pound UAB transfer declared for the NBA Draft, partici- pated in the combine, was a projected first-round pick but ultimately decided to spend his final year of college basketball in Ann Arbor. 2nd In the Big Ten is where Michigan was picked in the "official unofficial" Big Ten media poll con- ducted by The Columbus Dispatch, behind only Purdue. The Boilermakers (25) and Wolver- ines (3) were the only two teams to receive first-place votes. 4 Big Ten Tournament titles in program history — 1998, 2017, 2018 and 2025. Michigan beat Purdue (86-68), Maryland (81-80) and Wisconsin (59-53) on its path to a championship in Indianapolis last March. 5 Jersey numbers have been honored by the program: Cazzie Russell (No. 33), Rudy Tomjanovich (No. 45), Phil Hubbard (No. 35), Glen Rice (No. 41) and Bill Buntin (No. 22). Of those, only Russell's 33 is officially retired. Trey Burke's No. 3 will join them as the sixth when his jersey is lifted to the Crisler Center rafters in a ceremony at the Jan. 23 game against Ohio State. 8 Newcomers on the Michigan roster: four freshmen in guard Trey McKenney, guard/forward Win- ters Grady, guard/forward Ricky Liburd and center Malick Kordel, and four transfers in sophomore forward Morez Johnson Jr. (Illinois), graduate forward Yaxel Lendeborg (UAB), junior guard Elliot Cadeau (North Carolina) and junior center Aday Mara (UCLA). 11th Is where Michigan checked in nationally in KenPom's preseason efficiency ratings. The ana- lytics site predicts that the Maize and Blue will be No. 20 on offense and No. 8 on defense. 14 Turnovers per game for the Wolverines in 2024-25, ranking 332nd in the country. U-M gave the ball away on 19.6 percent of its pos- sessions for the season, but went 12-2 when that number was 18 percent or fewer. 27 Wins for Michigan under Dusty May last season, the most by a first-year head coach in program history. The second-best win total was Brian Ellerbe with 25 in 1997-98. 70.1 Adjusted tempo rating, ranking 54th in the country, for Michigan last season, the fastest the team has played since 1999-2000 (72.7), according to KenPom's analytics. 108 Career games with 78 starts for graduate guard NIMARI BUR- NETT, including opening all 69 games while at Michigan the last two seasons. The Chi- cago native has played for three schools — Texas Tech (2020-21), Alabama (2021-23) and U-M (2023-pres- ent) — with the majority of his action coming in Ann Arbor. 231 Assists for junior guard Elliot Cadeau as a starter at North Carolina last season. That total would rank seventh all time for a single season in Michigan history, behind Trey Burke (260 in 2012-13), Zavier Simpson (244 in 2018-29 and 236 in 2019-20), Darius Morris (235 in 2010-11), Gary Grant (234 in 1987-88) and Rumeal Robinson (233 in 1988-89). — Clayton Sayfie (6-6, 210) is one who can push for min- utes behind Gayle. He's an outstanding shooter who averaged 17.0 points, 7.1 re- bounds and 2.0 assists at Napa (Calif.) Prolific Prep a year ago. He's shown signs of being an outstanding all-around player, and it's only a matter of time before the sniper sees time. True frosh Ricky Liburd of Weston (Fla.) Sagemont Prep will red- shirt, but he averaged 16.4 points, 6.2 re- bounds and 2.6 assists per game and shot 49 percent from long range as a senior. He also had a good offseason. Grad student Nimari Burnett, mean- while, is a leader. The 6-5, 195-pounder started all 37 games a year ago, averaging 9.4 points and 3.5 rebounds per game, and was the Wolverines' best three-point shooter, with 66 makes at a 40 percent clip. "Nimari Burnett, his level of consis- tency, his routine, his mentorship to the young guys. …He just brings so much to the table," May said. "And then L.J. Ca- son, he sprained his ankle [in mid-Sep- tember]. Prior to that, he was playing at a significantly higher level than he played last season [when he averaged 4.3 points per game]. I think probably that the four returners have been the biggest, most pleasant surprise." Finally, when it comes to "freshman of impact," guard Trey McKenney is "that guy." The McDonald's All-American aver- aged 23.8 points per game at Orchard Lake (Mich.) St. Mary's Prep last year, shooting 42 percent from behind the arc and adding 2.9 assists and 10.2 rebounds per game. "His maturity level … it's really his approach every day," Church said. "It's extremely impressive‚ his physical matu- rity, emotional maturity, mental maturity. He's as advanced an 18, 19-year-old as I've been around. … "His stroke is really impressive. I think he's going to be one of these all-time Michigan shooters that we've seen over the years." Add it all up, May said, and you've got a team that should be able to play at the highest level. "I don't see why we can't compete with every single team in the country on any given night," he said. Chapter 2 of the May era begins Nov. 3 against Oakland University in what should be a treat for Michigan basketball fans. ❏ PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL