The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MAY 2026 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 35 ❱ MICHIGAN BASKETBALL creator/handler, and they have a history of finding undervalued players of that va- riety in this range," he wrote. "But that might be tough in this scenario: The en- ticing guard prospects are unlikely to still be on the board, and any potential reaches are likely to come with troublesome ques- tions, like lack of size, lack of efficiency, and so on. It's likely that they'll scoop up one of those players in the next round for better value, in typical Miami fashion. Lendeborg is a less saucy proposition, but he's undeniably multifaceted on offense: He can be a spacer, a passer who could sync with Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo, and a versatile defender who I would wa- ger is up to the challenge of playing Mi- ami's brand of two-way basketball." — Anthony Broome U-M'S SECRET SAUCE ON QUICK TURNAROUNDS Michigan went through the NCAA Tournament unblemished for sev- eral reasons, but the muscle mem- ory it has developed over the last two years on time crunches and quick preps has helped unlock the top gear for this program in the postseason. The Wolverines won by double digits in 30 of their 40 games this year, and are 18-2 in tournament-style games under head coach Dusty May over the past two seasons. Michigan has elite teachers of the game on May's staff, but the group has also proven to be full of elite students and learners, too. The coaching staff's ability to build an elite scouting report, and the players' ability to absorb that information and apply it on the floor, created a chemical mixture that positioned the Wolverines to make history. "They've taken a lot of ownership over what we want to do and how we want to attack people and how we want to de- fend people," U-M assistant Kyle Church told The Wolverine before the national championship game. "We are pretty set on wanting to switch a lot defensively. Offensively, really want to pass the ball and attack, different matchups. Usually, it takes a little bit as the game goes on to figure out the best way to play offensively. "But I just think their unselfishness and willingness to… like, Aday [Mara] is roll- ing tonight. Let's get him in position in this set. Or Yaxel [Lendeborg] is creating advantages, and let's just play off of him creating those. Elliot [Cadeau] is cooking in the pick-and-roll; he is getting people open shots, he's getting big flows. Proba- bly the biggest thing is their unselfishness to want to execute a game plan however the game makes it go." Michigan got off to some slow starts in the tournament, outside of its drubbing of Arizona. But it still found ways to click into high gear and run away from oppo- nents. Church thinks that it's a natural part of this stage. "I think, especially in these NCAA Tournament games, there's just so much hype ... it takes a little bit to settle in," he said. "There are obviously some nerves that they have to start all these games. I think they have so much confidence in themselves, for one. But then two, it's about who's next to them. "They know that, 'I don't have to score 30 points tonight. I know my brothers to the left and right of me are really good freaking basketball players. I just have to go out and play a good, solid game and knowing that one or two of us will have a good game and be ready to carry the load offensively.' "And then we've had a talk about a standard defensively of really guarding the ball, and it has been impressive." That trust and adaptability have be- come defining traits for this program. In a tournament where every possession is magnified and every mistake can end a season, U-M leaned on its habits, not just its talent. And that is why its formula was built to hold up under the brightest lights of all. — Anthony Broome Michigan's team strength all season was the trust and adaptability demonstrated by its players, including (left to right) Elliot Cadeau, Roddy Gayle Jr., Yaxel Lendeborg and Morez Johnson Jr. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL