UAB’s Yaxel Lendeborg is going to Michigan if he doesn’t stay in NBA draft, multiple outlets report
Yaxel Lendeborg has announced he’ll transfer from UAB to Michigan and also go through the NBA draft evaluation process.
Lendeborg’s decision, reported by multiple media outlets Saturday, including ESPN, takes one of the top big men out of the transfer portal.
The 6-foot-9, 240-pounder averaged 17.7 points, 11.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.8 blocks and 1.7 steals per game for the Blazers, who reached the NIT quarterfinals. He was a two-time first-team All-American Athletic Conference pick and two-time AAC defensive player of the year.
Lendeborg will attend the NBA combine in Chicago in mid-May and have until May 28 to decide whether he’ll stay in the draft or return to college. If he ends up at Michigan, he’ll fill a major need created by the departure of the 7-foot Danny Wolf.
Kentucky found its likely successor to point guard Lamont Butler with Pittsburgh’s Jaland Lowe announcing his commitment to the Wildcats on Instagram.
Lowe led the Panthers with 16.8 points and 5.5 assists per game and shot 88.6% on free throws. He scored in double figures 26 times, including 10 games with 20 or more points scored.
Creighton announced its third addition of the week with the signing of Iowa transfer Josh Dix. He averaged 14.4 points per game, shot 42.2% on 3-pointers and started all 32 games for the Hawkeyes. He grew up across the Missouri River from Omaha in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
“I am thrilled that Josh is coming home to be a Bluejay,” Creighton coach Greg McDermott said in a statement. “His ability to play on or off the ball is exactly the versatility we were in search of.”
Nebraska landed a big man in Ugnius Jarusevicius, an All-Mid-American Conference forward from Central Michigan.
The 6-10, 220-pound Jarusevicius led the Chippewas with 16.2 points and 7.3 rebounds per game and his addition takes care of a recruiting priority for the Cornhuskers, who will lose two big men. Jarusevicius’ transfer was reported by On3.
Jarusevicius finished the season with eight double-doubles. He scored 32 points in two games and had six other games with at least 20 points.
Purdue coach Matt Painter announced South Dakota State’s Oscar Cluff has signed the necessary paperwork to join the Boilermakers next season.
The 6-foot-11 center from Australia becomes teammates with All-Big Ten pick Trey Kaufman-Renn. They were the only players in the country to average at least 17 points, six rebounds and two assists while shooting at least 59% from the field.
Cluff was a first-team All-Summit League pick and member of the conference’s All-Defensive team. He averaged 17.6 points, 12.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game and shot 63.4% from the field this season.
Missouri Valley Conference sixth man of the year Tavion Banks became the fifth Drake player to follow coach Ben McCollum to Iowa.
McCollum announced Banks has signed a scholarship agreement and will have one season of eligibility. Valley player of the year Bennett Stirtz, Kael Combs, Cam Manyawu and Isaia Howard also have transferred from Drake.
On the women’s side, Rutgers announced the addition of one of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s top point guards in graduate transfer Kaylah Ivey from Boston College.
Ivey led the ACC and ranked third in the nation with a 3.3 assist-to-turnover ratio on 160 assists and 49 turnovers. She recorded 16 assists with no turnovers against Miami on Jan. 16, the most in an ACC game since 2002.
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