Yaxel Lendeborg

[Eight_Banners]

FRIGGIN NUTS!

What a terrible sentence:


"The Associated Press interviewed Yaxel Lendeborg, and he said Mark Pope and Kentucky reportedly offered him $7-9M when he entered the portal from UAB."

So, the Associated Press interviewed Yaxel Lendeborg. Got it.

In the interview, he said (I'm assuming Yaxel Lendeborg) Mark Pope and Kentucky reportedly offered him $7-9M.

So, Yaxel Lendeborg doesn't know exactly how much he was offered by Mark Pope and Kentucky, but it was somewhere between $7M and $9M dollars? There was a potential $2M difference in the offer? That's a potential 20%+ difference between one offer and the other.

Or, the Associated Press said Mark Pope and Kentucky offered Yaxel Lendeborg between $7-9M reportedly. Information he got from an apparently non-specific interview he had with Yaxel, who didn't actually know the number Mark Pope and Kentucky offered him.

Either the Associated Press had an incompetent interviewer, or Yaxel was feeding half-truths and/or lies.

 

[Wildcat_in_DC]

Ah. So you think he knew Dusty May would let him play out of position, and Mark Pope wouldn't.

And then Mark Pope--who had a 7 foot center dribbling the ball up the court and initiating the offense with passes out of the high post--Mark wasn't smart enough to point that out or sell it.

Makes sense.

yeah passing the ball at the top of the key to wings is the same thing as getting the ball in an iso on the perimeter......

i guess all the big time C/PF just have it all wrong

 

[dBradish]

If Pope doesn't have the balls to respond to this, someone at UK needs to.

It doesn't even matter if it's true or not - this isn't the first time recently that major shade has been publicly thrown our way, and it's not like being sheepish about it is working for us so far.

Tackle this kind of thing head on and let's get back to the business of winning!

 

[Cats192]

yeah passing the ball at the top of the key to wings is the same thing as getting the ball in an iso on the perimeter......

i guess all the big time C/PF just have it all wrong

I appologize. I didn't realize you were so dense. I thought you could connect the rest of the dots yourself.

You're saying that Yaxel wanted to play in a non-traditional role for a guy of his size.
I responded saying Pope let Amari basically play point guard.

I'm not saying those 2 things are "the exact same." But reasonable people understand that letting a Center play point guard is "non-traditional" usage for a big man. It stands to reason that Yaxel could also be used in a "non-traditional" big man role here.


But you're just looking to be combative and insult people and "be right." So nothing I say is going to work for you.

 

[fisherscatfan]

NIL isnt paid by the school . there fore you cant FOIA or force a collective or business to give out the info. Cant force a player to give out that info out since its done as their private life

While NIL isn’t paid by the school it is arranged. I have a family member in a P4 basketball program. Every recruit meets with the school and their NIL is laid out to them by the school during their recruiting visit.

 

[fisherscatfan]

Yaxel expects people to believe he turned down the equivalent salary of the number 6 pick in the NBA draft? I think Pope was a terrible hire, but this just is ridiculous at least the money part.

 

[Cats192]

Yaxel expects people to believe he turned down the equivalent salary of the number 6 pick in the NBA draft? I think Pope was a terrible hire, but this just is ridiculous at least the money part.

He came back to college because he could get more money in NIL than he could in the NBA.

But then he took way less in NIL than he could have gotten.

 

[Beatle Bum]

If Pope doesn't have the balls to respond to this, someone at UK needs to.

It doesn't even matter if it's true or not - this isn't the first time recently that major shade has been publicly thrown our way, and it's not like being sheepish about it is working for us so far.

Tackle this kind of thing head on and let's get back to the business of winning!

there is no correlation between this claim and winning. There is no need to respond to this claim, whether true or not.

 

[HogCoyote]

If Pope doesn't have the balls to respond to this, someone at UK needs to.

It doesn't even matter if it's true or not - this isn't the first time recently that major shade has been publicly thrown our way, and it's not like being sheepish about it is working for us so far.

Tackle this kind of thing head on and let's get back to the business of winning!

They won't. UK is tight lipped about everything these days. They're worse than the mob with Omerta these days.

 

[travisbickle]

If Pope doesn't have the balls to respond to this, someone at UK needs to.

It doesn't even matter if it's true or not - this isn't the first time recently that major shade has been publicly thrown our way, and it's not like being sheepish about it is working for us so far.

Tackle this kind of thing head on and let's get back to the business of winning!

At this point it’s not even about coaching, results, being goofy, whatever.

Pope needs to call these folks out that are openly trying to damage him and more importantly UK.

The quote from the article is a set up for a feel good, rags to riches, blah blah type of article that we see all the time in March.

But then either the player or the interviewer specifically calls out UK. Completely bizarre.

And as you said multiple people seem to be completely fine with calling him and UK out by name.

Pope would earn back some respect from me if he stepped up and called this b ullshit out. Can’t hurt recruiting anymore than it already is.

 

[SkyPrince]

At this point it’s not even about coaching, results, being goofy, whatever.

Pope needs to call these folks out that are openly trying to damage him and more importantly UK.

The quote from the article is a set up for a feel good, rags to riches, blah blah type of article that we see all the time in March.

But then either the player or the interviewer specifically calls out UK. Completely bizarre.

And as you said multiple people seem to be completely fine with calling him and UK out by name.

Pope would earn back some respect from me if he stepped up and called this b ullshit out. Can’t hurt recruiting anymore than it already is.

You're exactly right.
Sometimes you have to punch back.
Absolutely no downside to disputing this claim unless Pope actually offered this.
Some of you might remember during the '98 tournament UNC player Mahktar N' diage accused Utah's Britton Johnson of calling him the N word.
Majerus stepped to the podium said I know the kid and this never happened. If it proves to be true I'll resign from coaching.
You never heard a peep from the UNC player again.
No way Hurley, Barnes, Pitino, or even Cal would let this guy get away with spewing nonsense to the media and not clap back.

 

[nipsnip]

This kind of stuff is absolutely being put out by someone looking to damage UK's image. There is no way in hell this is true. Not that big of a difference in money. It's just not believable. Dave Chappelle is the only guy to turn down money like that lol. I hope Yaxel breaks his knee this week, that lying MFer.

 

[Padsfs07]

Pope would earn back some respect from me if he stepped up and called this b ullshit out. Can’t hurt recruiting anymore than it already is.

I think Oweh could do a really funny response as well, but it's bad timing with the tourney coming.

 

[Oboro_3]

Pope doesn't need to respond to this. People with common sense knows this wasn't true. The ones hyping his comments up are the ones who want to see Pope fail. Players talk a big game to prop themselves up. Just like when a player adds UK to their list of schools being considered even though UK is not actively recruiting them.

The $22 million spent on NIL was reported by the Lexington Herald


"How much do UK basketball players get paid? The top question on most fans’ minds seems to be related to how much money Kentucky basketball players are actually making these days. We’ll probably never know the specific answer to that one. For now, at least, that information is not public record, nor is it available through open records requests. The players themselves aren’t offering up details on what exactly they’re pulling in to play for the Cats this season.

But we’ve still found out plenty about the team’s overall payroll … What will the collective earnings be for this Kentucky team? The payroll number for the UK basketball team this season is around $22 million, the Herald-Leader has been told. That was the number as of the finalization of the House settlement, which set guidelines for what constitutes legal payments to players moving forward, so it’s likely the collective total for the Cats will rise with any legitimate name, image and likeness deals that come their way during the 2025-26 season."

Read more at: https://www.kentucky.com/sports/col...tball-men/article312461238.html#storylink=cpy

Who told them it was that number? The paper confirms that they don't know the specific amount and will never know it so they are going by someone who thinks they know how much the team is being paid. Nothing was confirmed so everybody ran with that number...

 

[SkyPrince]

This kind of stuff is absolutely being put out by someone looking to damage UK's image. There is no way in hell this is true. Not that big of a difference in money. It's just not believable. Dave Chappelle is the only guy to turn down money like that lol. I hope Yaxel breaks his knee this week, that lying MFer.

Left undisputed from UK, this becomes fact in a lot of people's minds.
No one has brought it up but stuff like this in the media puts the screws to Will Stein on the recruiting trail.
Rival recruiters can run with the narrative that UK is so basketball crazy that they were willing to pay 9 million to one player.
How much are they offering you again?
Pope being silent let's this story live as truth.
I would call out Yaxel and his agent.

 

[Kantucke_rivals]

Seems like Mission Accomplished by Yaxel and his agent/agency/Michigan, I'd like to know exactly the reasoning behind this Pope smear piece but damage has been done.

 

[RunninRichie]

Pope doesn't need to respond to this. People with common sense knows this wasn't true. The ones hyping his comments up are the ones who want to see Pope fail. Players talk a big game to prop themselves up. Just like when a player adds UK to their list of schools being considered even though UK is not actively recruiting them.

The $22 million spent on NIL was reported by the Lexington Herald


"How much do UK basketball players get paid? The top question on most fans’ minds seems to be related to how much money Kentucky basketball players are actually making these days. We’ll probably never know the specific answer to that one. For now, at least, that information is not public record, nor is it available through open records requests. The players themselves aren’t offering up details on what exactly they’re pulling in to play for the Cats this season.

But we’ve still found out plenty about the team’s overall payroll … What will the collective earnings be for this Kentucky team? The payroll number for the UK basketball team this season is around $22 million, the Herald-Leader has been told. That was the number as of the finalization of the House settlement, which set guidelines for what constitutes legal payments to players moving forward, so it’s likely the collective total for the Cats will rise with any legitimate name, image and likeness deals that come their way during the 2025-26 season."

Read more at: https://www.kentucky.com/sports/col...tball-men/article312461238.html#storylink=cpy

Who told them it was that number? The paper confirms that they don't know the specific amount and will never know it so they are going by someone who thinks they know how much the team is being paid. Nothing was confirmed so everybody ran with that number...

Thanks, Rex.

 

[SkyPrince]

Pope doesn't need to respond to this. People with common sense knows this wasn't true. The ones hyping his comments up are the ones who want to see Pope fail. Players talk a big game to prop themselves up. Just like when a player adds UK to their list of schools being considered even though UK is not actively recruiting them.

The $22 million spent on NIL was reported by the Lexington Herald


"How much do UK basketball players get paid? The top question on most fans’ minds seems to be related to how much money Kentucky basketball players are actually making these days. We’ll probably never know the specific answer to that one. For now, at least, that information is not public record, nor is it available through open records requests. The players themselves aren’t offering up details on what exactly they’re pulling in to play for the Cats this season.

But we’ve still found out plenty about the team’s overall payroll … What will the collective earnings be for this Kentucky team? The payroll number for the UK basketball team this season is around $22 million, the Herald-Leader has been told. That was the number as of the finalization of the House settlement, which set guidelines for what constitutes legal payments to players moving forward, so it’s likely the collective total for the Cats will rise with any legitimate name, image and likeness deals that come their way during the 2025-26 season."

Read more at: https://www.kentucky.com/sports/col...tball-men/article312461238.html#storylink=cpy

Who told them it was that number? The paper confirms that they don't know the specific amount and will never know it so they are going by someone who thinks they know how much the team is being paid. Nothing was confirmed so everybody ran with that number...

When Pope makes a statement of denial, it out there for all people common sense or not.
Maybe I missed it, who in the national media is defending Pope?
I would call out his agent by name and say we met in Chicago to discuss Yaxel coming to UK but no offer of the reported amount was extended.
Put the ball in his court.
Prove it or STFU.

 

[Gobigblue812812]

Is he bashing UK or praising Dusty and Michigan?

How does he not know how much money there were offering? There's a huge gap between $7 to $9:million.

I think he either truly has no idea what the offer was or he's totally trying to pump up his coach.

 

[20MRoster]

Yaxel is either lying, or he’s a complete idiot for not taking it. Either way, he looks like a fool.

Actually he came out just fine. He was showcased all year, became a national name, and solidified his draft status (previously was fringe first round). Whether he's lying about this or not, who knows, but he is definitely not an idiot for going to Michigan. Even though you may not want to admit it, the UK program is currently a laughingstock when it comes to perception on player development and professional prospects. And, fair or not, perception is reality.

 

[travisbickle]

Pope doesn't need to respond to this. People with common sense knows this wasn't true. The ones hyping his comments up are the ones who want to see Pope fail. Players talk a big game to prop themselves up. Just like when a player adds UK to their list of schools being considered even though UK is not actively recruiting them.

The $22 million spent on NIL was reported by the Lexington Herald


"How much do UK basketball players get paid? The top question on most fans’ minds seems to be related to how much money Kentucky basketball players are actually making these days. We’ll probably never know the specific answer to that one. For now, at least, that information is not public record, nor is it available through open records requests. The players themselves aren’t offering up details on what exactly they’re pulling in to play for the Cats this season.

But we’ve still found out plenty about the team’s overall payroll … What will the collective earnings be for this Kentucky team? The payroll number for the UK basketball team this season is around $22 million, the Herald-Leader has been told. That was the number as of the finalization of the House settlement, which set guidelines for what constitutes legal payments to players moving forward, so it’s likely the collective total for the Cats will rise with any legitimate name, image and likeness deals that come their way during the 2025-26 season."

Read more at: https://www.kentucky.com/sports/col...tball-men/article312461238.html#storylink=cpy

Who told them it was that number? The paper confirms that they don't know the specific amount and will never know it so they are going by someone who thinks they know how much the team is being paid. Nothing was confirmed so everybody ran with that number...

I get why they didn’t respond to the initial article. I’m advocating for responding first to this dude Yaxel. And then any coach that brings this number up in an interview like Todd “Gooner” Golden.

A lot I didn’t like about Cal by the end but I love the mentality of “you come for me and I’ll burn your village down”. Pope needs to have that same mentality and if he doesn’t have it in him then it’s another piece of evidence that he isn’t cut out for this.

 

[travisbickle]

Is he bashing UK or praising Dusty and Michigan?

How does he not know how much money there were offering? There's a huge gap between $7 to $9:million.

I think he either truly has no idea what the offer was or he's totally trying to pump up his coach.

That’s what’s crazy to me. You can do the little fluff piece “I love Dusty he’s going to help me achieve my dreams and I’m just a poor kid who doesn’t care about money in the short term”. All you have to say is “some other schools offered me way more but I took a pay cut to play at UM”.

Directly naming UK and a number is not accidental.

 

[WeWant9_rivals]

I get why they didn’t respond to the initial article. I’m advocating for responding first to this dude Yaxel. And then any coach that brings this number up in an interview like Todd “Gooner” Golden.

A lot I didn’t like about Cal by the end but I love the mentality of “you come for me and I’ll burn your village down”. Pope needs to have that same mentality and if he doesn’t have it in him then it’s another piece of evidence that he isn’t cut out for this.

Yeah, don’t think Pope needs to spend 20 minutes addressing it, but a quick line of something like “don’t believe the bs you read on the internet” would be just fine.

 

[FitchandMurray29]

Is he bashing UK or praising Dusty and Michigan?

How does he not know how much money there were offering? There's a huge gap between $7 to $9:million.

I think he either truly has no idea what the offer was or he's totally trying to pump up his coach.

He’s not really doing either. It’s a fluff piece about his journey, how he’s able to help his family, etc. The 7-9M UK comment is only used to make him look even better as a person(by passing up even more money than he got) that the story is playing up. The writer used it as the headline to get clicks, otherwise it’s a pretty boring/gloss over piece even for Michigan fans.

It’s not that deep imo. It’s not an attack on UK. He just uses UK’s notorious deep pockets and interest in him in the portal to add to the story.

 

[SkyPrince]

He’s not really doing either. It’s a fluff piece about his journey, how he’s able to help his family, etc. The 7-9M UK comment is only used to make him look even better as a person(by passing up even more money than he got) that the story is playing up. The writer used it as the headline to get clicks, otherwise it’s a pretty boring/gloss over piece even for Michigan fans.

It’s not that deep imo. It’s not an attack on UK. He just uses UK’s notorious deep pockets and interest in him in the portal to add to the story.

I don't really see the gray area.
It's either true or it's a lie.

 

[FitchandMurray29]

I don't really see the gray area.
It's either true or it's a lie.

No gray area. It’s a lie to make him sound as some even more holier than thou person and he uses it to also talk up his coach.

 

[nipsnip]

Left undisputed from UK, this becomes fact in a lot of people's minds.
No one has brought it up but stuff like this in the media puts the screws to Will Stein on the recruiting trail.
Rival recruiters can run with the narrative that UK is so basketball crazy that they were willing to pay 9 million to one player.
How much are they offering you again?
Pope being silent let's this story live as truth.
I would call out Yaxel and his agent.

I think Pope and Mitch need to address this. And if they have some proof Yaxel is lying, sue him. If this story is fabricated (and it certainly seems like it) he is absolutely legally at fault. Again, nobody in college ball is passing up 6 million.

 

[nipsnip]

Is he bashing UK or praising Dusty and Michigan?

How does he not know how much money there were offering? There's a huge gap between $7 to $9:million.

I think he either truly has no idea what the offer was or he's totally trying to pump up his coach.

But in doing so, he's trashing Pope and Kentucky. We don't allow that. Yaxel is a marked man.

 

[SkyPrince]

No gray area. It’s a lie to make him sound as some even more holier than thou person and he uses it to also talk up his coach.

He has to learn to do those things without embellishing.
He's 24, we're not talking about a current HS senior.
I just hope there's a media person at the tournament that won't let it go and will force him to walk it back or double down.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Aside from some numbers being off (and we don't know if this was a multi-year deal) I don't know how anyone can think this is a lie, not true, etc.

This thread is cringe inducing. Far too many fans are trying to write this off, when these recruiting problems have been staring us in the face for two years. Like, a player is legit telling you he favors Michigan/Dusty of Kentucky/Pope and some of you are replying with "Fake news!" essentially. Ok lol.

 

[travisbickle]

Aside from some numbers being off (and we don't know if this was a multi-year deal) I don't know how anyone can think this is a lie, not true, etc.

This thread is cringe inducing. Far too many fans are trying to write this off, when these recruiting problems have been staring us in the face for two years. Like, a player is legit telling you he favors Michigan/Dusty of Kentucky/Pope and some of you are replying with "Fake news!" essentially. Ok lol.

One of the biggest problems that needs to get fixed before anything else can get fixed is somebody from UK needs to draw a line in the sand that coaches and players who try to call out UK publicly aren’t going to just get a pass to talk s hit. I think the number is embellished but not 100% false. That’s not the point.

 

[Ecthelion of the Fountain]

This story going to be picked up blasted around the world. Not exactly ideal

Just more fuel to the fire.

 

[KyLegacyBBN]

This article makes him sound like a complete dumbass if he turned down that kind of money.

 

[FitchandMurray29]

Aside from some numbers being off (and we don't know if this was a multi-year deal) I don't know how anyone can think this is a lie, not true, etc.

This thread is cringe inducing. Far too many fans are trying to write this off, when these recruiting problems have been staring us in the face for two years. Like, a player is legit telling you he favors Michigan/Dusty of Kentucky/Pope and some of you are replying with "Fake news!" essentially. Ok lol.

He only had one year of eligibility left and thus wasn’t a multi year deal.

I think people can say the dude is full of it while admitting he might’ve had a slightly higher offer from UK and that there are significant recruiting questions at UK.

 

[Hitman206]

The Wolverines looked like the best team in the country at times in the early season. They are very good, but the distance between them and other teams seems to close after the loss to Duke. Their games become dramatically closer and then Purdue topped them in the B1G finale. They need to return to their early season dominance for a run in the NCAAT.

They lost LJ Cason for the season due to torn ACL in Feb, and he averaged 8.4 ppg.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

One of the biggest problems that needs to get fixed before anything else can get fixed is somebody from UK needs to draw a line in the sand that coaches and players who try to call out UK publicly aren’t going to just get a pass to talk s hit. I think the number is embellished but not 100% false. That’s not the point.

I mean, not much we can probably do about that, but I also don't know if this was really a shot at Kentucky, as opposed to praising his coach and program. Did I miss more in an article somewhere?

We really need a legit AD and GM now more than ever though. We have just been getting punked left and right from all angles, for several years now.

He only had one year of eligibility left and thus wasn’t a multi year deal.

I think people can say the dude is full of it while admitting he might’ve had a slightly higher offer from UK and that there are significant recruiting questions at UK.

Yeah I just don't know what purpose he has to lie. I can;t imagine Kentucky would offer $9mil. But to the people who are saying "He's $2mil off in his wording".. I don't think that means anything. Schools could very well be offering one thing at $7mil and something else at $9mil. Who knows, maybe there was some soft offer that Kentucky upped with some sort of additional considerations.

But $9mil seems very steep.

 

[SenseMaker_Cats]

Aside from some numbers being off (and we don't know if this was a multi-year deal) I don't know how anyone can think this is a lie, not true, etc.

And I don’t know how anyone can think it isn’t at least questionable that a young man would flush $4-6 million dollars down the toilet to play for a coach for one year.

If we’re offering multi year deals to seniors, we’ve got bigger issues than we even thought.

 

[FitchandMurray29]

I mean, not much we can probably do about that, but I also don't know if this was really a shot at Kentucky, as opposed to praising his coach and program. Did I miss more in an article somewhere?

We really need a legit AD and GM now more than ever though. We have just been getting punked left and right from all angles, for several years now.



Yeah I just don't know what purpose he has to lie. I can;t imagine Kentucky would offer $9mil. But to the people who are saying "He's $2mil off in his wording".. I don't think that means anything. Schools could very well be offering one thing at $7mil and something else at $9mil. Who knows, maybe there was some soft offer that Kentucky upped with some sort of additional considerations.

But $9mil seems very steep.

If you’re wanting to give the kid the benefit of the doubt that he wasn’t embellishing it, I think you have to take this position:

-Pope and UK offered low 4 mill range that included collective NIL and rev share, guaranteed money
- Pope then threw out there that he thought Yaxel could make an additional 3-5M in real NIL by being a star at UK. This is NOT offered by the school, it’s just something that could in theory be possible on his own

That combines for “between 7 to 9 million” even if that’s not what’s in a contract from UK or the similar contract he got from Michigan.

 

[ManitouDan]

I said this in an OP and got dragged.

The media hates us.
Opposing coaches hate us.
Top recruits are nervous to come here.
No top coach wants to come here.
Referees hate us.
The UK admin hates the fans.

We're a toxic program.

I've caught myself wondering why be a fan of such a flaming trash pile. I'm 55 years old and will probably be dead before I see #9. What's the damn point anymore. Not that I'm going to change schools, but my passion for following CBB is circling the drain, and I suspect I'm not the only one by far.

I quit reading at page 4 but I can see how some of this is certainly believable ... I said NIL has ruined the game and it certainly pushed along its demise . BUT I cant buy this guys story . I mean he says he took " a little less " to go play where he wanted , but you want me to believe he turned down an extra 4-5 Mil for 1 years service ? IF true , we are beyond toxic , we are burnt toast . But I'm barely hanging on , more by my personal SOP than my brain . You watch and root the Cats , its what you do - when from eastern Ky anyway .

 

[mdluk1]

Aside from some numbers being off (and we don't know if this was a multi-year deal) I don't know how anyone can think this is a lie, not true, etc.

This thread is cringe inducing. Far too many fans are trying to write this off, when these recruiting problems have been staring us in the face for two years. Like, a player is legit telling you he favors Michigan/Dusty of Kentucky/Pope and some of you are replying with "Fake news!" essentially. Ok lol.

You believe it because you want it to be true. You think he turned down an extra $4-5 million because you think pope is a dork.