Michigan Basketball fans were delighted when Yaxel Lendeborg opted to remove his name from NBA Draft consideration and transfer to Michigan. The Wolverines have gotten everything they hoped for, and more, from Lendeborg through 18 games, as he is averaging 14.2 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game while shooting an absurd 51.2 percent from the field.
Does Lendeborg have a case for the National Player of the Year Award?
While none of his raw counting stats lead the
country or come anywhere near it, Lendeborg’s value is immense as he contributes in every facet of the game. He’s a premier scorer, can switch onto anyone on defense, and has incredible athleticism. He either leads the team or is second in points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, and free throw percentage. He’s also done all this while being banged up for portions of the season.
For some national context, I turned to KenPom to see how they see Lendeborg stacking up. His offensive rating of 139.9 places him 13th in the country. However, that stat is independent of usage — Lendeborg leads the country for players that are used in at least 20 percent of offensive possessions. Side note: Morez Johnson Jr. is 14th in the country by this metric.
One of Lendeborg’s best traits is his efficiency. He is shooting 67 percent from two — generally only centers who’s primary shot selection is a dunk or a bunny have shooting percentages this high. This puts him 83rd in the country in two-point shooting percentage, but nearly everyone in front of him is 6-foot-10 or taller.
Lendeborg’s scoring has decreased a bit since conference play started, but he’s made his impact felt in other areas. He rarely turns the ball over (sixth in the Big Ten), is a monster at blocking shots (fourth in the Big Ten), steals the ball with regularity (23rd), rarely fouls (eighth) and has only missed one free throw (second).
KenPom has a kPOY Rating, which assesses who statistically should be the Player of the Year. Lendeborg currently sits at eighth in this metric. That said, there is a larger gap between Lendeborg (eighth) and Jeremy Fears (10th) than there is between AJ Dybantsa (third) and Lendeborg (eighth).
KenPom sees Duke’s Cameron Boozer as a moderately heavy favorite, with Iowa State’s Joshua Jefferson solidly in second. After that, there’s an incredibly tight bunching between Dybantsa (BYU), Braden Smith (Purdue), Caleb Wilson (North Carolina), JT Toppin (Texas Tech), Kingston Flemings (Houston) and Lendeborg.
If Vegas odds are more your speed, DraftKings currently has Lendeborg at +6,000 to win the Wooden Award. Those are the seventh-fewest odds with Boozer (-380), Dybantsa (+550), Smith (+900), Jefferson (+1,400), Toppin (+2,500) and Wilson (+5,500) ahead. Flemings is below Lendeborg at +8,000.
If Lendeborg can find a way to get fully healthy, he can easily vault himself into the discussion. While Boozer is the clear favorite, he does not have an unassailable lead. Michigan’s Feb. 21 showdown with Boozer’s Blue Devils could very well see the two best players in college basketball squaring off. With a solid performance and a win in that matchup, Lendeborg could find himself getting some hardware this spring.
