basketball

Yaxel Lendeborg's mom flipped him into 'attack mode,' and now Michigan is on brink of Final Four

By Andy BackstromYahoo Sports

Lendeborg's unorthodox story is endearing. His talent is just as intriguing: 'I think we have an NBA player playing for us in college.'

CHICAGO – Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg looked for the green light. He couldn’t catch Dusty May’s eye. So the Big Ten Player of the Year sent it anyway.

Not a shot. A line. “Honestly, I kind of felt a little disrespected having a freshman guarding me,” Lendeborg said at the podium with his head coach a mere foot away, as the 23-year-old, do-it-all graduate forward explained why he posed like he did after breaking the ankles of Alabama forward Amari Allen and knocking down a momentum-shifting 3-pointer in Friday’s NCAA tournament Midwest regional semifinal.

That triple swished 51 seconds into the second half of a 90-77 Sweet 16 victory . It gave the top-seeded Wolverines a lead they had lost to the No. 4 seeded Crimson Tide while missing their final five field-goal attempts before halftime.

“I feel like a lot of us weren't playing as good as we wanted to, so naturally your confidence goes down a little bit, but after seeing somebody come out, make somebody fall and hit a 3 in their face, that definitely gives you some confidence,” junior point guard Elliot Cadeau said in the locker room postgame. Yaxel getting busy off the screen 👀 #MarchMadness @umichbball pic. twitter.

Continue to the original source for the full article.