Yaxel Lendeborg didn’t exactly hide how much fun he was having against a former Michigan teammate in Summer League. In fact, he admitted he didn’t really make the adjustment he said he would.
That moment came after Sunday night’s game, when Lendeborg was asked about trying to lock in after spending the first half enjoying the matchup with Aday Mara. The answer was blunt and funny in equal measure:
“Yaxel, you told me at the half that you wanted to lock in and make sure you weren’t having too much fun with your former teammate (Aday Mara), do you feel like you made those adjustments?”
Yaxel: “I did not”
Must watch post game interview 😂 pic.twitter.com/rEOHICrnrm
- Barstool Michigan (@BarstoolUofM) July 12, 2026
Mara then crashed the interview, putting Lendeborg in a little headlock before the two headed off to the locker room. It was the kind of scene that says plenty about the bond Michigan’s former stars built during their run to a National Championship.
Michigan made history this season with a starting five made entirely of transfer portal players, and three of those guys then did it again by becoming the first team since 2007 to have three players selected in the first round of the NBA Draft who weren’t freshmen. Morez Johnson Jr., Yaxel Lendeborg and Aday Mara all went in the first 12 picks, a clear sign of how much NBA teams valued them.
Now all three are in the league’s Summer League, and the connection they formed in Ann Arbor is still front and center. Johnson and Lendeborg already showed it earlier, and Sunday night brought another reminder with Mara and Lendeborg sharing laughs instead of treating the matchup like a cold business trip.
Lendeborg said the three of them talked about this moment all season long.
“We talked about this so much. We manifested this all year.
It’s like a dream of ours, you know, seeing each other play at the highest level," Lendeborg said." I think we have our first team dinner today, so I’m very excited to see them and talk about what’s going on in our lives now."
Yaxel Lendeborg says he’ll have dinner with former Michigan teammates Morez Johnson Jr. and Aday Mara after the game:
“We talked about this so much. We manifested this all year.
It’s like a dream of ours, you know, seeing each other play at the highest level. Aday is just… pic.twitter.com/yjjZ2VztsS
- aly ✶ (@jinthirty) July 13, 2026
Even with different uniforms now, the three are still making time for each other off the floor, including team dinners to catch up on life beyond basketball. The relationships they formed in Michigan clearly didn’t end when the season did.
That kind of environment is part of what Dusty May built in Ann Arbor, and there’s hope Mike Boynton can keep it going. Boynton served as the head assistant under May, and he already has nearly the entire roster back for next season, with only one player still undecided.
In Other News...
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The appeal for Michigan goes beyond just filling a spot. This is the kind of hire that can matter in a room where communication, detail and trust are everything, especially when a program is trying to keep its secondary sharp against the Big Tens passing attacks. His track record includes helping produce NFL-caliber talent and multiple all-conference players, which gives the Wolverines a reason to believe the move could pay off quickly even as the full impact still has to play out. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Fans May Never Get Over These Portal Regrets
Since the transfer portal arrived in 2018, Michigan has had to watch a handful of players leave and then blossom somewhere else, which is exactly the kind of hindsight exercise that can linger in Ann Arbor. Zach Charbonnet, Giles Jackson and Keon Sabb are among the names that stand out most, each carving out a bigger role after moving on, while the broader list serves as a reminder of how much the portal and NIL have changed the way roster building works in college football.
Justice Haynes is the latest example to keep Wolverines fans wondering what might have been, especially with Michigans backfield already looking deep enough to make any missed opportunity sting a little more. The more these departures add up, the easier it is to imagine alternate versions of recent Michigan teams, and the harder it gets to separate real roster management from the regrets that come with seeing former players thrive elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Just Missed On A Quarterback Fans May Regret
Trae Taylors rise has made him one of the more intriguing quarterbacks in the 2027 class, and the Omaha natives path only added to the buzz. After transferring to Millard South High School and putting together a strong season as both a passer and runner, Taylor kept drawing more attention from the biggest programs in the Midwest, including a steady run of Big Ten visits before his recruitment settled down.
For Michigan, the miss may linger because Taylor kept climbing in the rankings while the Wolverines watched Nebraska land his commitment. Rivals and 247Sports now both have him as the top quarterback and top prospect in Nebraska, and his profile has only grown with the kind of offseason exposure that tends to separate a good recruit from a cant-miss one. Even so, Michigan has already stayed active in the class and will keep looking to make sure the next quarterback target does not get away. [Read more 🡒]