Yaxel Lendeborg's Second-Half Takeover: Unlocking His True Potential (2025)

Imagine a highly talented basketball player stepping onto the court, only to stumble through the first half like he's lost his touch—then, in the blink of an eye, transforming into a scoring machine that lights up the scoreboard. That's the electrifying story of Yaxel Lendeborg's game against Cincinnati, where he turned a rough start into a breathtaking display of potential on the No. 7 Michigan men's basketball squad. But here's where it gets intriguing: could this outburst hint at untapped stardom, or is it a reminder of the ups and downs every athlete faces? Stick around, because this comeback isn't just about points—it's about the grit and game-changers that make college hoops so thrilling.

Among the Wolverines searching for rhythm after a bumpy opening period was Yaxel Lendeborg, the impressive 6-foot-9 graduate forward who passed up the opportunity to enter the NBA draft this summer to pledge his loyalty to Michigan instead. For newcomers to the game, this means he chose to stay in college for another year, betting on his development at the university level over jumping straight into professional basketball. Lendeborg, who managed just five points from six attempts in his initial 15 minutes on the floor, seemed a far cry from the explosive, nimble scorer and playmaker Michigan had witnessed in training sessions and recruitment highlights. Meanwhile, the team—playing without key contributors like sophomore forward Morez Johnson Jr. and junior center Aday Mara—resembled a group still finding their footing together, trailing 52-34 at halftime with a concerning 5-to-14 assist-to-turnover ratio in the first 20 minutes. To put that in simple terms, for every five times they successfully passed the ball to set up a teammate for a shot (assists), they turned it over 14 times, meaning errors like steals or bad passes that gave the ball right back to the opponents— a ratio that can frustrate any coach and sap a team's momentum.

And this is the part most people miss: as Lendeborg headed from the bench toward the locker room at halftime, he sought wisdom from his trainer, Aaron Johnson, whom he'd known from his time at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Johnson's blunt feedback cut through the noise. 'He just laid it out for me,' Lendeborg recalled. 'You know, I'm playing timidly, and I need to take control over these guys.' Hearing it from someone he trusted shifted his mindset. 'When he puts it that way, it clicks differently,' he explained. 'I gave it a shot, and it clicked. I thanked him and just kept pushing forward.'

In mere moments into the second half, Lendeborg morphed from a sideline observer into the heartbeat of Michigan's attack. Picture this: after Cincinnati missed a three-pointer and junior point guard Elliot Cadeau swiped the ball, Michigan launched into transition offense—a fast-paced opportunity to score before the defense sets up. Cadeau delivered a pass, and Lendeborg nailed his first three-point shot of the half. He didn't ease up; a few plays later, he grabbed the ball on another breakaway and barreled to the basket twice in a row, earning and-one opportunities—those extra free throws after a foul on a made basket that can swing a game's energy.

Before three minutes had ticked off the second-half clock, Lendeborg had racked up 9 of Michigan's 12 points in that period, slicing the deficit to 11. 'It reached a tipping point where they needed me to step up more,' he shared. 'I decided to attack, ramp up my intensity, and lean into my physical strengths to create additional opportunities and pile on points for the team.' This kind of adjustment, turning advice into action, is a classic example of how mental switches can unlock physical potential in sports—think of it as flipping a switch from doubt to dominance.