2. Michigan Wolverines
The biggest question in Michigan’s offseason: Will UAB transfer Yaxel Lendeborg return? According to the Detroit Free Press, “The understanding inside U-M's program is that if Lendeborg's camp is to get the feeling he is all but guaranteed to be a first-round pick − and not one of the last ones − he will almost assuredly go to the NBA.” With the NBA Combine coming up, we’ll have an answer sooner rather than later.
With Vlad Goldin and future first-rounder Danny Wolf departed in the frontcourt, the hope is that Michigan keeps Lendeborg, parking him alongside 7-foot-3 UCLA transfer Aday Mara or Illinois transfer Morez Johnson. Johnson, a traditional, physically imposing big, is poised for a second-year jump after averaging 7.0 PPG and 6.7 RPG at Illinois last season. Dusty May has proven he can fit polarizing frontcourt pieces together. He will do so again in year two.
In the backcourt, Roddy Gayle Jr. should be a pivotal piece. If UNC transfer Elliot Cadeau can hone in on his consistency behind the arc, perhaps Dusty May, once again, will strike gold in the transfer portal, not even including the pending Lendeborg decision. The Wolverines should be mighty good in 2025-26.