The Michigan Wolverines’ basketball program has been one of the most active in the nation since the end of March Madness, signing four players from the transfer portal and finishing second in the national transfer portal rankings behind St. John’s.
The Wolverines’ success adding new potential stars and complementary players has resurrected hopes for a Big Ten regular season championship with familiar foes Michigan State, Purdue and others among the conference favorites.
Recently, college hoops scribe Jon Rothstein revealed his top 30 impact college basketball players and three Wolverines made the cut.
Cadeau, Lendeborg Among Writer’s Top Transfers
Michigan’s highly decorated transfers Elliot Cadeau (from North Carolina), Morez Johnson (from Illinois) and Yaxel Lendeborg (form Alabama-Birmingham) were among those listed by Rothstein as impact players.
The trio gives Michigan a pass-first point guard, high octane power forward and a second power forward who can crash the glass and score at a high level.
Cadeau is expected to be the distributor, Johnson the energy guy and Lendeborg the star of the show for Michigan’s team next season, comprising one of the nation’s top classes of newcomers.
Rothstein called Cadeau the “on court steward” for next season’s team, noting that he finished second in the ACC in assists last year.
Lendeborg averaged over 17 points and 11 rebounds per game last season with the Blazers and has “All Big Ten” potential according to Rothstein.
Johnson is a familiar foe among Wolverines fans. His athletic strengths include sprinting, jumping and boxing out for rebounds in the paint. He had a 15-rebound game in 31 minutes against Ohio State last season and has a “tremendous nose for the ball” according to Rothstein.
Hoops Season Drawing Closer
Michigan basketball’s 2025-26 season is drawing closer with the opening tip-off scheduled for Nov. 3 against Greg Kampe’s Oakland Golden Grizzlies based out of Oakland County, Michigan.
Games against Wake Forest and TCU will follow, placing emphasis on the importance of the Wolverines taking their offseason practices and training seriously considering the gravity of the tasks at hand to open Dusty May’s second season at Crisler Arena.
Related: Urban Meyer Warns Big Ten Coordinators About Dangerous Addition to Bryce Underwood’s Game
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Sep 20, 2025, where it first appeared in the College section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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