Michigan’s portal-powered lineup delivers championship in new era: Telander

CHICAGO - I’ve got some tips on how to win the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, kids. That is, if you want to do it like Michigan did Monday night in Indianapolis with its 69-63 victory over UConn.

First, make your free throws. The Wolverines hit 25 of 28 in the game, which is 89 percent, which is very, very good.

Second—and this should have been first, now that I think of it — get yourself some players from all over the country. Get a starting lineup of veteran fellows who have all played at other colleges before coming to Ann Arbor. Entice them. Promise them. Pay them. Do whatever is needed.

It’s a new world, and Michigan understands it. Indeed, the school just became the first ever to have a championship starting lineup comprised entirely of players who had played elsewhere before entering the fun house known as the transfer portal and popping out as Wolverines.

The Michigan Wolverines huddle up in the first half against the UConn Huskies in the National Championship of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium on April 06, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Let's go through those players, with their former schools in parentheses: Morez Johnson Jr. (Illinois), Nimari Burnett (Alabama), Elliot Cadeau (North Carolina), then the two special ones, Aday Mara and Yaxel Lendeborg.

Mara started playing pro ball at age 16 in his native Spain for CB Zaragosa before signing with UCLA and then Michigan. The 21-year-old just happens to be 7-foot-3 with a 7-foot-7 wingspan (his father and mother are 6-foot-7 and 6-foot-3, respectively). Oh, and Mara’s the 2026 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. He jammed up the lane against UConn like an albatross in a henhouse.

Lendeborg, the 6-foot-9, first-team All-American forward, was born in Puerto Rico, is of Dominican Republic descent, grew up in Ohio and New Jersey and played basketball first at Arizona Western and then the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Then, deep breath, a year ago, he arrived at Michigan.

Though hampered by a bad ankle and knee at the end of the tournament, Lendeborg was the second-highest scorer for Michigan in the title game (13 points) and played all but four minutes. The 2026 Big Ten Player of the Year was a jewel of an acquisition for the Wolverines. He did not come cheap.

Lendeborg was projected to make about $2.7 million if he declared for the NBA draft and was taken late in the first round, where he seemed likely to go. Michigan reportedly made it worth his while to hang out with students for another year, to the tune of a $3 million payout, plus $2 million NIL and team revenue-sharing money.

Ah, innocent college days. Remember them, folks?

All this maneuvering enabled Michigan to win its first National Championship since 1989 and the Big Ten’s first title since 2000. I guess you could call these Wolverine guys students, though youngish pros works for me. Lendeborg, you should know, is 23 years old. NBA superstar Victor Wembanyama, now in his third pro season, is 22. NBA Rookie of the Year candidate Cooper Flagg is 19.

So it goes in the once amateurish business of college sports, which now has almost no monetary rules and can compete at the lower levels with both the NBA and the NFL. UConn has its pros, too. And there’s one, 6-foot-8 forward Alex Karaban, who has been around seemingly forever. In fact, had the Huskies beaten Michigan, he would have become the only college player in history—who didn’t attend UCLA—to win three national championships. He was around for UConn’s titles in 2023 and 2024, and he had a terrific game Monday night, leading his team with 17 points.

None of it was enough, though. Not even UConn coach Dan Hurley’s histrionics could stop the fierce defense and penetration of title game MVP, the Wolverines’ 6-foot-1 speedster point guard Cadeau. He had 19 points, three rebounds, two steals and two assists.

Which brought up another interesting element to this low-scoring game: There were very few assists, with Michigan only recording seven. It seemed most baskets were put backs or rebounds or one individual plowing his way alone through a thicket of arms and extended legs. And three-point shots? Michigan only made two of 15, which is an incredible stat for a winning club.

There were times when we were concerned that UConn coach Hurley might have a stroke or heart attack or nervous breakdown, but he was a good sport, calmed himself, survived and shook everybody’s hands at the end. Any hoops ill will seem to be flowing from the women’s NCAA semi-title game played Friday in Phoenix, wherein South Carolina beat previously undefeated UConn, and the Huskies women’s coach, Geno Auriemma, had a bit of a pre-game snippy fit. As did Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley in response.

The men were all well-behaved in their match, and Michigan is our new college champ. The Wolverines knew the path and followed it well.

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The Source: This article was written by Rick Telander, a contributing sports columnist for FOX Chicago.

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