There were a few clear objectives the Michigan men’s basketball coaching staff had when constructing its current roster, and getting better defensively may have been the biggest one.
Per KenPom ($), Michigan’s
defense was 12th in the country in adjusted defense, but didn’t force many turnovers (15.8 turnover percentage for opponents, 268th out of 364 teams), didn’t block a ton of shots (9.5 block percentage, 161st in the country), and didn’t force many steals (7.5 steal percentage, 331st in the country). The defense was sound when it came to making guys miss shots, but there is room for improvement when it comes to creating turnovers.
The Wolverines are trying to turn those perceived weaknesses into strengths with all the new faces on the 2025-26 roster.
“That’s probably going to be our strong point,” assistant coach Drew Williamson said of the defense. “With Yaxel (Lendeborg), we talked about his offensive repertoire, but he’s impressed us defensively. He’s guarded 1-5, he’s guarding the point guard some days, he’s guarding the big man some days, I think that’s been one of the biggest surprise with him. You have Elliot’s speed, Nimari’s a good defender, Roddy’s a good defender … I think we’ll be able to run a few guys in and out and put some pressure on some teams.”
Part of the reason why Lendeborg was considered by many to be the best player in the portal was his defensive prowess. He was twice named the AAC Defensive Player of the Year thanks to his quick hands and solid length for his position at 6-foot-9. Among the 5,000+ players on KenPom, Lendeborg ranked 178th in block percentage (5.1) and 366th in steal percentage (2.8) last season. He’s an absolute menace when it comes to taking the ball from the opponent, and he will be asked to guard smaller players a lot this season.
“He’s played some point guard duties, he’s guarded point guards — he actually guards point guards better than he does 5 men in my opinion,” head coach Dusty May said at Big Ten Media Days. “He’s got a real unique skillset and he loves to pass it.”
Since May got hired, the Wolverines have switched 1 through 5 as often as possible to avoid other teams exploiting potential mismatches. Danny Wolf and Vlad Goldin held their own when asked to defend on the perimeter last season, but Michigan feels like it can be better among the players who replaced them.
“We want to challenge those guys,” Williamson said. “I think Morez can guard 1-5. Aday and Malick, those guys, we’re challenging them too … the only way to do it is challenging guys earlier. I think that’s one of the things we learned last year with Danny (Wolf) — just challenge them early, and he took the challenge and I think the same thing here.”
Aday Mara’s name has been brought up recently as part of the defensive improvement. He ranked third in the Big Ten in blocks per game last season (1.6), slightly ahead of Goldin and Wolf in a smaller percentage of minutes (13 per game, compared to both Goldin and Wolf playing more than double those minutes).
“(Mara’s) ability to just distract all the layups around the rim, being able to clean up all the misses is just something you can’t teach with his size and length,” Roddy Gayle Jr. said.
Having a 7-foot-3 giant at the rim improves your entire defense, and he won’t be the only one tasked with swatting away shots. Like Mara, Morez Johnson Jr. wants to guard 1-5 and be a versatile piece on defense.
“Shot blocking,” said assistant coach Akeem Miskdeen when asked what Mara and Johnson bring to the defense. “I don’t think we protected the rim as much last year, maybe a little bit with Danny and Vlad (Goldin). But I think (Mara and Johnson) take it to a whole new element with their athleticism.”
Lendeborg, Mara and Johnson all add length, athleticism and versatility on defense. Creating turnovers for a team that likes to run is a great recipe for easy offense, and defensive improvements could help this group go from being good to great.
“We got a lot of depth and we’re physical,” Miskdeen said, when asked what the biggest difference is between last year’s group and this year’s. “Maybe that’s on the coaches, maybe we’re expected to be more physical in the Big Ten, I would say those two things stand out the most.”
