Login
Michigan basketball enters 2025-26 season with ‘high hopes’ for loaded frontcourt
ANN ARBOR — When the dust settled on Michigan’s roster a year ago, coach Dusty May thought he and his staff assembled one of the premier frontcourts in college basketball.
Danny Wolf, a first-round draft pick, and Vlad Goldin, an All-Big Ten first-team selection, ended up proving May right.
As the Wolverines prepare for a new campaign with a different cast, May feels this season’s revamped frontcourt can be just as good, if not better, than any in the country.
“I do,” May said this month at the midway point of summer workouts. “I felt like that last year when we signed Danny and Vlad.”
That’s saying something, considering Wolf and Goldin played starring roles as they led Michigan to a 27-10 record, Big Ten tournament title and Sweet 16 appearance. On top of that, the two were finalists for awards that recognize the nation’s top power forward and center.
But May and the Wolverines put together a frontcourt mix that’s arguably more talented and deeper than a year ago, bringing in transfers Morez Johnson Jr., Yaxel Lendeborg and Aday Mara and returning Will Tschetter and Oscar Goodman. There’s also incoming freshman Malick Kordel, a 7-foot center from Germany.
“When you look at their skill sets, when you look at what they do well, their physical attributes, I do think all of them complement each other,” said May, noting Kordel wasn’t on campus for the first half of summer practice but is expected to join the team soon.
“We do think we have a lot of options. As the teams in the Final Four proved last year, you need great depth if you want to play late into March and, hopefully, April.”
Each of the frontcourt pieces has different strengths and can impact the game in different ways. As Lendeborg explained, Johnson is a “brute force inside who can do whatever you need” at the power forward and center positions, while the 7-foot-3 Mara is a “surprisingly good passer” and someone you can throw the ball up to anywhere.
Both Johnson and Mara are lob threats whereas Lendeborg described himself as more of an “under-the-rim player.” Johnson takes pride in his defense and being physical, something Lendeborg has noticed as he’s had a tough time bumping Johnson off his spots. Mara, whom Lendeborg called the “tallest person I’ve ever met in my life,” has ridiculous length that can frustrate and baffle others.
“We do layup drills, and I’m trying to take a layup. I’m thinking it’s a good layup. (Mara) comes out of nowhere, blocks it, and I’m like, ‘OK. How do I score on him?’” Lendeborg said. “Morez as well. He’s a super athlete. He’s my height (6-foot-9) jumping like 40 inches off the ground. It’s been crazy.”
Tschetter, who has worn different hats throughout his Michigan career, is a 3-point threat who can space the floor and slide up and down the lineup. He’s the glue guy that every team needs and does the little things — like boxing out, setting screens and constantly communicating — that make a big difference. Goodman, who joined the team midseason last year and redshirted, is another versatile piece that allows Michigan to play big or small. Kordel is a project who has long-term potential and upside.
Then there’s Lendeborg, the do-it-all forward who can play out on the perimeter, handle the ball under pressure and operate with bigger or smaller defenders on him. He can knock down outside shots and be a playmaker in ball screens like Wolf.
“We’ve got so many guys that are versatile and can do everything, and that’s going to help us out a lot,” Johnson said. “We’re very interchangeable.”
Added Lendeborg: “We’re diverse. We have a lot of assets.”
One key to making it work is the team’s unselfishness, something that Lendeborg, Mara and May all pointed to. Everyone in the frontcourt is a willing passer and shares the game.
Lendeborg, for example, hasn’t been shooting as much in summer workouts. He’s been more focused on figuring out how to get the ball to his teammates in their spots rather than figuring out his scoring spots.
“He (Lendeborg) enjoys passing the ball. When you have a guy that’s been as publicized as Yax, if they’re selfish, they’re about numbers, if they’re about themselves, it can present a number of challenges,” May said. “With Yaxel, he’s so team-oriented that it’s been a pretty smooth transition.”
Much like Goldin and Wolf, opportunity is what drew Johnson, Lendeborg and Mara to Michigan. And seeing how Goldin and Wolf were utilized in May’s system last season also caught the trio’s attention.
Mara decided to leave UCLA after two seasons. May noted like most big men, Mara likely wasn’t physically ready as a freshman. It wasn’t until the second half of his second year with the Bruins that Mara began to emerge and come into his own.
Seven of the nine times he scored in double figures last season came in the final 16 games, including a three-game stretch in late January where he scored 22 points in 21 minutes against Wisconsin followed by back-to-back 12-point, five-block outings against Washington and USC.
“After two years, I felt like they didn’t give me an opportunity to help the team,” said Mara, who averaged 6.4 points and four rebounds in 13.1 minutes off the bench as a sophomore.
“When I went into the transfer portal, I spoke with Coach (May) a couple of times. I really liked the way (Michigan was) playing. They were a good team and won the conference (tournament). Coach told me the way that they’re playing — a lot of ball screens, ball movement — and he knows how to use the bigs, so I was really excited to come here.”
Mara added he’s comfortable playing in the high and low post and at whatever pace May wants. Given his background as a European big, he’s used to running in transition and playing in pick-and-rolls.
Despite cracking the rotation as a freshman at Illinois, Johnson felt transferring “would be better for my game overall and its longevity.” As a rim runner and bruiser in the paint, Johnson did much of his damage around the rim and was one of the best in the Big Ten at cleaning up on the offensive glass.
Johnson believes he’ll get a chance to do more and show more at Michigan, whether that’s being in more dribble handoffs, driving if a defender closes out too hard or taking catch-and-shoot 3s (he didn’t attempt a single 3-pointer in 30 games at Illinois).
“Just adding more reads to my game, instead of having just one read,” said Johnson, who averaged seven points and 6.7 rebounds in 17.6 minutes per game and set a freshman record at Illinois by shooting 64.2% from the field.
“I connected with May and (assistant coach) Akeem (Miskdeen). They’re both player coaches. They’re hands-on. I love how they focus on player development, and I love how they let their bigs play.”
For Lendeborg, Michigan and the Big Ten offer a bigger stage. After shining in the American Athletic Conference with UAB the past two seasons, he’ll look to follow Wolf’s and Goldin’s footsteps, make the high-major jump and produce at a high level.
Lendeborg was projected to be a late first-round draft pick following a stellar season where he averaged 17.7 points, 11.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists, earned All-AAC first-team honors and was named the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year. He opted to withdraw from the draft and head to Michigan, where he’ll put the feedback he received from NBA teams into action — like showing more “aggressiveness” and getting better at initiating and playing through contact, he said — and be determined to prove himself against Power Four competition.
“Seeing what Danny Wolf and Vlad were doing, coming from basically the same level as me, was great,” Lendeborg said. “The role that Wolf played, too, was something that I wanted to be a part of.”
It’s all led to this for May and the Wolverines: A new season with some new faces, but a similar feeling.
“We’re going to be the best frontcourt in the game — Big Ten, NCAA, whatever it needs to be,” Lendeborg said. “I have high hopes for us, and I feel like we’re going to do the best we can to deliver.”
