Despite suffering an MCL sprain in the Final Four game against the Arizona Wildcats, Yaxel Lendeborg followed on his promise to feature for the Michigan Wolverines in the NCAA Championship game against the UConn Huskies. He played 36 minutes (most on the team) for 13 points (on 4-13 shooting), two rebounds, one assist and one block.
Lendeborg twisted his ankle in the first half of the Arizona game. But he returned in the second half, playing through the injury and also shot a pair of 3-pointers in the second half, which turned out to be important. After the game, he even vowed to play Monday night for the NCAA Championship and he did.
With the season over, Lendeborg was asked to share update on his injury and the path forward.
“I hope I didn’t mess anything up any more than I already was. I’m gonna find that out in a couple days, you know, once we finish celebrating,” Lendeborg said.
The Michigan forward also talked about the effort behind the scenes it took to get him ready for the game.
“It took a lot to get on the court, honestly, and to stay on there,” Lendeborg said. “I was dealing with a lot of mental issues today. You know, these guys all leaned in on me and helped me out, helped me dig myself out of the hole, man. And, you know, just continue to keep fighting.
“Chris, shout out to him because he was with me pretty much all day, all night, trying to make sure that I was even 60, 50 percent able to play. And I did the best I could regardless of the outcome, but it feels really, really good to be a champion, to be on top of the world, man.”
Lendeborg didn’t offer a clear answer whether he would require surgery for his injury to his left knee, as right now his focus is to celebrate Michigan’s second overall NCAA title in men’s basketball.
Yaxel Lendeborg Received Glowing Mention From Popular ESPN Analyst
Stephen A. Smith was full of praise for Yaxel Lendeborg after he decided to play hurt for the sake of the team. When it was halftime, Smith wrote a tweet with a glowing mention of Lendeborg, saluting him for literally playing on one leg.
“As for @umichbball, I have so much respect for @Yaxel_Lendeborg. Brother is practically on one leg. If he were healthy this game would probably be more lopsided,” Smith wrote.
While Lendeborg was not his usual best, he managed to keep out UConn from dominating inside the paint. That’s exactly the kind of energy Michigan needed to become champions this season.
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