The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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16 THE WOLVERINE ❱ JUNE/JULY 2026 ❱ INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL 3 Michigan basketball players are partici- pating in the NBA Combine May 10-17 at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago — for- wards MOREZ JOHNSON JR. and Yaxel Lendeborg and center Aday Mara. Johnson and Mara each have remaining college eligibility and could withdraw from the draft by 11:59 p.m. ET on May 27. 4 Consecutive opponents were held to season-low field goal shooting percentages to end Michigan's NCAA Tournament run: Ala- bama (36.2), Tennessee (31.6), Arizona (36.6) and UConn (30.9). I don't think he's ever going to be an all-star or superstar or anything like that, but I think he's just one of these guys who really contributes to win- ning basketball at a high level. Some of his higher-end outcomes are a guy like [Golden State Warriors forward] Al Horford, a guy like [Detroit Pistons big man] Isaiah Stewart. I could really see him having that type of im- pact. And, even on a lower level, we're see- ing how good [former Michigan forward and current Charlotte Hornets standout] Moussa Diabate was for Charlotte this year with just his pure energy and defensive versatility. At a base level, being that is super valuable." — No Ceilings NBA Draft analyst Tyler Metcalf on Morez Johnson Jr. He fits well, and he's only going to get better. He's got some things to improve on, but I'd be shocked if he went another year in college beyond this, but you never know. Might be good money to do so. The guy started playing basketball at like 14. He's six years into this, so he can only get better." — Scott Springer of The Cincinnati Enquirer on new Michigan center Moustapha Thiam, who played for the Bearcats in 2025-26 I think we have a very, very competitive roster, I think a potential top-five, top- 10 type roster. We obviously still have a spot or two left. If some things break our way, then maybe we could look at one of the best in the country. We'll just see how it plays out. No matter who joins us or doesn't join us, we're really excited about the position we're in." — Assistant men's basketball coach and general manager Kyle Church on the "Defend The Block" podcast $1.37 Billion Distributed to the 18 Big Ten member schools for the 2024-25 fiscal year, due in large part to a 55 percent increase in rev- enue in its first full year of the expanded league and under a new media rights agree- ment. The total distribution was $340 million higher than what the Southeastern Confer- ence ($1.03 billion) reported. 1990 Was the last time Michigan had three top-20 NBA Draft picks (Rumeal Robinson, No. 10; Loy Vaught, No. 13; Terry Mills, No. 16). According to ESPN's Jer- emy Woo, the Wolverines are slated to replicate that in 2026, with Morez Johnson Jr. (No. 20, San Antonio Spurs), Yaxel Lendeborg (No. 12, Oklahoma City Thunder) and Aday Mara (No. 14, Charlotte Hornets) all checking in as top-20 selections in his mock draft released April 28. I chose Michigan because they've become family. When I'm there, I know that's where I belong. [Of- fensive line] Coach [Jim] Harding played a major role in my commitment — he's just a great coach and he knows how to develop." — Kalamazoo (Mich.) four-star Michigan offensive line commit Jakari Lipsey on his pledge 43% Of Michigan's 2027 commit- ments (three of seven) are in-state products — four-star offensive lineman JAKARI LIPSEY (Kalama- zoo), four-star edge Recarder Kitchen (Muskegon) and three- star offensive lineman Louis Es- posito (Saline). 29 Players signed with and joined the Michigan bas- ketball program out of high school from 2018-25, and a whopping 19 of them entered the transfer portal and ended their college careers elsewhere. Only 10 have not entered the portal, in- cluding redshirt freshman guard/forward Ricky Liburd, sophomore guard Trey McK- enney, redshirt sophomore forward Oscar Goodman and junior guard L.J. Cason. Already, two members of the 2025 class have entered the portal, with both guard/ forward Winters Grady and center Malick Kordel ending up at Minnesota. NUMBERS AND QUOTES BY CLAYTON SAYFIE PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS