Dusty May let Nate Oats off the hook for an alleged inexcusable Transfer Portal mistake

Yaxel Lendeborg left UAB for Michigan last offseason, and the first-team All-American and Big Ten Player of the Year has an interesting recollection of that process. Recently, he claimed he was offered over $7 million by Kentucky before signing with Michigan, an assertion that was categorically denied by Kentucky head coach Mark Pope. 

Now, ahead of Alabama’s Sweet 16 showdown with the top-seeded Wolverines in Chicago on Friday night, Lendeborg told reporters that he was hoping to be recruited by Alabama coming out of UAB and that “when I didn’t, it kind of hurt me a little bit.” 

Of course, it would be an inexcusable mistake by Oats to ignore such a tantalizing talent just an hour away in Birmingham. Especially one who, at 6-foot-9, can make plays with the ball in his hands and space the floor as a three-point shooter. Of course, Oats didn’t ignore him, as May clarified. 

“Nate and I being friends,” May told reporters when asked about it in Chicago on Thursday, “we talked through that process, and don’t tell Yax, but they did try to recruit him.” 

Dusty May debunks Yaxel Lendeborg’s claim that Alabama did not try to recruit him out of UAB

Lendeborg was one of the most highly sought-after players in the Transfer Portal last offseason. Maybe not $7 million offers highly sought-after, but highly sought-after nonetheless. He’s an ideal fit for the ethos of modern college basketball, which is emphasizing rim dominance with massive supersized front courts. 

Michigan is one of the teams leaning into that model, which helped Florida win the national championship last year. For the Wolverines, Lendeborg is a primary initiator at the small forward position, often bringing the ball up the floor and even defending opposing point guards with his remarkably quick feet. That ability allows May to play him with 6-foot-9 Morez Johnson Jr. and 7-foot-4 Aday Mara. 

While Oats and Alabama still play a high-variance style of five-out basketball with a major reliance on the three-point shot, Oats has been pushing to get more size on the floor. Aden Holloway’s absence in the portal has made that possible, but adding Lendeborg would have been even better. According to May, Oats tried to pull that off, but likely, Lendeborg’s team never entertained the offer enough for him to hear about it. 

Not forcing your way into the mix for a player like Lendeborg, who would be such a great stylistic fit and is nearby at UAB, is a mistake in itself, but not showing any interest would have been inexcusable.