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Star-studded transfer portal haul gives Michigan 'really deep front line' and 'true point guard'

clayton-sayfieby: Clayton Sayfie06/17/25CSayf23
Yaxel Lendeborg
(Photo courtesy Michigan basketball)

Michigan Wolverines basketball added the second-best group of transfer additions this offseason, according to the On3 Team Transfer Portal Index, with four newcomers.

The Wolverines’ especially bolstered the front court by bringing in 7-foot-3 center Aday Mara (UCLA), Illinois forward Morez Johnson Jr. and UAB forward Yaxel Lendeborg, a two-time All-AAC first-team performer. Those additions offset the losses of two All-Big Ten bigs in Vladislav Goldin and Danny Wolf, two seven-footers who took the conference by storm a year ago.

“First and foremost, just the ability to be deep, have real depth within our roster is really important — and those guys really give us a chance to have real depth,” Michigan assistant coach Justin Joyner said on the ‘Defend The Block’ podcast with host Brian Boesch. “Certainly with those three adds — Yax, Morez and Aday — it gives you a really deep front line, with obviously [graduate] Will Tschetter and [redshirt freshman] Oscar Goodman, as well.”

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Two highlights of Michigan’s team profile last season was its ability to dominate on the inside. The Wolverines ranked 20th nationally in two-point field goal shooting (56.7 percent) and 13th in two-point defense (46 percent). The Wolverines have a chance to continue to be proficient in those two areas with the size and skill they added through the portal.

“Our front line is deep, and I think you really have to be able to play big in college basketball,” Joyner explained. “We saw that last year with Danny and Vlad. Danny was a little bit more of a perimeter type big. We’ll have to play a little bit different, but I think Yax can certainly do both — play on the perimeter, play in the post — and do some things like that. 

“But just the depth, the size, the physicality, the athleticism. I love the fact that they’re all a little bit different inside. Morez is different than Aday. Aday is different than Yax. And so we have some versatility on the front line.”

Michigan also has one of the best passers in college basketball to lead the whole show. North Carolina transfer Elliot Cadeau averaged 9.4 points and 6.2 assists per game last season on an offense that ranked 21st nationally in adjusted efficiency and 34th in adjusted tempo, per Kenpom.

“Elliot gives us a true point guard,” Joyner said. “He gives us a guy that can play with pace. He gives us a guy that’s a real table-setter that takes pride in making other players better. I think that’s a great fit for our staff, but most importantly, [head] Coach [Dusty] May.”

Nimari Burnett and Will Tschetter ‘really, really care about Michigan’

Michigan has a flashy transfer class but also returners who will continue to lay the foundation May is setting out to put forth in Ann Arbor. Guard Nimari Burnett and Tschetter are two graduate students who are not only two of the team’s best shooters, but also act as de facto captains. Their tone-setting will make for an easier transition for the transfers and freshmen.

“The importance of Michigan as a whole bleeds through those guys,” Joyner said. “Those guys really, really care about Michigan. They really, really care about this program. And they really care about leaving this program better than they found it.

“A real senior leader is going to put that at the forefront of everything. We felt that with Will and Nimari last year, and I think it’s going to be tenfold this year. 

“Those guys are really selfless, team-first-mentality guys — and we’re lucky to have them back. I think our newcomers, our freshmen and our returners, for that matter, will really benefit from their leadership and expertise.”

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