Danny Wolf was a captivating force during his lone season at Michigan. A towering point forward who dazzled with step-back jumpers and slick passes, it was a sight to see.

His ability to operate out of ball screens with fellow 7-footer Vlad Goldin — something not often seen in college basketball — created problems for opposing defenses and became a staple of coach Dusty May’s offense.

Among those who took notice was Yaxel Lendeborg, a standout do-it-all forward at UAB, and his trainer Aaron Johnson.

“Me and Coach AJ, we talked about Dusty and the way he’s playing Danny Wolf a lot, and we envisioned me in that particular role,” Lendeborg said on Michigan’s “Defend the Block” podcast this offseason.

“I was watching a lot of games, just seeing how they play, and became a Michigan fan.”

Lendeborg eventually became a Michigan man, opting to bypass the NBA Draft and head to Ann Arbor, where he figures to fill the hole left behind by Wolf, who played his way into becoming a first-round pick.

As Lendeborg explained, there were two things that ultimately led to him picking Michigan over the NBA — his visit to campus and the facilities in April and the feedback he received throughout the predraft process.

“When I came out here, it was like (May) is promising me next year I can be better than what I was last year, higher ranking draft-wise if I come here and put the work in,” said Lendeborg, who was projected to be a fringe first-rounder this year.

“Then I spoke to NBA teams and the majority of them were saying it wouldn’t be a bad idea to come back here, develop a little bit more, play at a higher level and see what I’m capable of doing.”

It didn’t hurt that May had a connection to UAB, where he spent two seasons as an assistant coach from 2007-09. His time there overlapped with Johnson, who starred at UAB from 2007-11 and served as the director of player development at his alma mater during the 2023-24 campaign.

It also helped that Lendeborg was familiar with May. When Lendeborg was playing at Arizona Western, where he was a two-time juco All-American, he watched May guide Florida Atlantic to the Final Four in 2023. Lendeborg liked how May coached his team and the style of play.

Ever since then, Lendeborg continued to follow May, even after the two crossed paths twice seasons ago in the American Athletic Conference. And once he hit the transfer portal, Lendeborg noted Michigan had a “head start” because of his familiarity with May’s system and the fact that he could see himself being utilized like Wolf was.

“We pretty much do the same thing,” Lendeborg said. “I would say (Wolf) is a better shooter than me. But just coming off the pick-and-roll with a big, it’s always better because a five man can’t really move that well and I feel like I move decently for my size. My first instinct is always to pass, so coming off a screen, I’m going to have a lot of shooters around me. I can make that pass to a shooter. … If the opportunity for me to score is there, then I have to take that as well. But I do feel like I can play (Wolf’s) role pretty well.”

Following a breakout sophomore season at Yale, Wolf made a seemingly seamless transition from the Ivy League to the Big Ten and produced at a similar level. Lendeborg will look to follow suit after two stellar seasons at UAB, where he was a two-time All-AAC first-team selection and two-time conference Defensive Player of the Year.

In 72 games with the Blazers, Lendeborg stuffed the stat sheet and averaged 15.8 points, 11 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.9 blocked shots and 1.2 steals in 31.9 minutes. He also shot 54.6% on 2-pointers, 34.9% on 3-pointers and 77.8% on free throws.

Lendeborg feels he has room to grow on both ends of the floor. Offensively, he wants to get better at shooting off the dribble and shooting with a quicker release. Defensively, he wants to improve his strength and agility.

“Body-wise, I didn’t really put up the most athletic numbers at the (NBA) combine,” he said, “but I do feel like that’s going to change.”

What isn’t is his rebounding ability and his passing, the latter Lendeborg feels he’s “naturally gifted” at and considers his favorite thing to do on the court.

Combined with his size at 6-9 and 240 pounds, there’s some overlap between Lendeborg’s and Wolf’s skill sets.

“They’re different in how they approach things. But the one thing about Yax, we think he’ll be able to unlock some playmaking ability here,” May said on the program’s podcast last month. “Once again, that league (AAC) is a lot different. It’s smaller, it’s more athletic. We were able to play extremely small at FAU. In the Big Ten, he’ll be defended by much bigger players a lot of the time, so he’ll be able to use his speed and his quickness.

“The one thing about Yax is when he draws two (defenders), the ball comes out of his hands probably as well as anyone that we’ve recruited in the last several years. He has a good feel for playing team basketball, so you don’t have to change a lot. We’ll simply use him as a weapon, as a queen on a chessboard, like Derik Queen at Maryland, like Danny Wolf, just guys that can create and make plays.”

Of course, the surrounding cast plays a pivotal part in making it work. Goldin, one of the best low-post scorers in all of college basketball, thrived as a roller who could catch and finish anything Wolf threw his way.

May is optimistic Lendeborg and the Wolverines will have similar success with a new-look frontcourt that includes Illinois transfer Morez Johnson Jr. and UCLA transfer Aday Mara. While Lendeborg, Johnson and Mara are threats in different ways, May pointed out that all three are unselfish and they’re all willing passers who will be able to play off one another.

“It’s a new puzzle for us but it’s not as if it’s brand new, because Yaxel does handle it like Danny, and he passes it like Danny,” May said on “The Sideline with Andy Katz” podcast last week. “He’s got a little bit of plug and play in him.”

That coupled with the roster pieces May and Michigan already had in place long before Lendeborg withdrew his name from the draft made it a calculated risk that the Wolverines were willing to take.

“We felt like this was a year that we could gamble on someone who we felt was the most productive, the best player in the portal. What I mean is some years you can’t wait this long,” May said. “In this case, we felt like we had the roster depth, the positional size across the board, where we could roll the dice and go the duration with someone like Yax. Fortunately, it paid off because he raises our ceiling exponentially.”

Not to mention the expectations, both individually and collectively as a team.

“I’m super excited. I feel like it’s giving me more of a chip my shoulder to try to be the best that I can be and not let the fans down, let the people that support us down,” Lendeborg said. “I made a promise that I want to at least take us to the Final Four. I’m going to do whatever I can to get us there.”