Yaxel Lendeborg vows to play in national championship after Final Four injury

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INDIANAPOLIS — At first, crashing to the parquet after awkwardly landing on an Arizona player’s foot, Yaxel Lendeborg thought he could walk it off.

The graduate forward had never injured his knee before. His first instinct, actually, was that it was over, his knee searing with a pain he’d never felt in his life. As he hobbled to the free-throw line with nine minutes left in the first half, he sank into a deep squat, clenching his fists in rage and sending curses high into the rafters of Lucas Oil Stadium. Upon entering the medical tent, he cried.

“I was frustrated, man, because I put in a lot of work to get here, you know?” Lendeborg said postgame, sitting at his locker. “I was just asking, like, ‘Why me?’ It definitely didn’t feel good. I didn’t know how to express myself at the moment. I tried to just release some anger to see if it’ll numb the pain a little bit — it didn’t. But I tried to let out as much yelling as I could.”

Quickly, he realized he had rolled his ankle and injured his knee. He told reporters after the game that the worst-case scenario was a medial collateral ligament (MCL) sprain, and he’d be receiving MRIs “later.”

Immediately after he exited the game, walking off the court and past the student section into the tunnel as fans cheered in support, the Wildcats pounced. For the first time all night — and really, what would end up being the only time all game — the Wolverines let Arizona get hot, allowing a 7-0 run before calling a timeout.

Michigan’s offensive possessions over that stretch were hurried and skittish, consisting of missed layups the Wolverines normally make and far too much dribbling for a team defined by ball movement. The Wildcats also took it to Michigan in transition, drawing contact and slicing through defenders in the post.

Yet even without Lendeborg, Michigan knew it had a chance.

“With the depth of our roster, it allows us to pick up where others left off,” senior guard Roddy Gayle Jr. said. “Especially with Yax going down in the first half, my role changes, just playing more minutes. And then playing different roles, whether it was playing three and four, or even two sometimes. So with our depth, I think we have more than enough players to be able to keep the wheels moving, so to speak.”

Gayle didn’t even know Lendeborg was injured until halftime, figuring the forward was just out of the rotation after picking up two early fouls. Once he realized Lendeborg was able to return, the reassurance was obvious.

“It’s really good on your mind to know that he’s okay,” Gayle said. “(It’s) nothing career-ending or anything like that. Just knowing that he’s tough enough to push through it. This is the moment that he came to college for, to win a National Championship, and, you know, we right here. So I know that he’s going to do whatever he can to be able to be available for Monday’s game.”

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