Michigan's Yaxel Lendeborg, ranked as the top player in the transfer portal, claimed Kentucky offered him up to $9 million to play there.

Kentucky men's basketball head coach Mark Pope didn't directly deny claims the Wildcats offered Michigan star Yaxel Lendeborg $7 to $9 million to attend the SEC program, but he wasn't happy about the entire situation.

Kentucky coach Mark Pope danced around a report from The Associated Press that his program offered a huge NIL deal to Michigan star Yaxel Lendeborg when he was transferring from UAB last season.

The reigning Big Ten Player of the Year claims he could have been making somewhere between $7 to $9 million if he had gone to Kentucky, which threw the kitchen sink at Lendeborg to try and get him to go to Lexington.

Michigan star Yaxel Lendeborg says Kentucky offered $7–9 million to land him in the transfer portal before he chose Dusty May and the Wolverines.

The Big Ten Player of the Year came up clutch for Michigan to beat Wisconsin and advance to the Big Ten championship game.

Q. Going into a game like this, and not kind of the coach’s answer of what you’re prepped to say, but when you’re huge favorites, how difficult is it to stay mentally prepared? Everybody is a threat at this point,

The Midwest Region of the March Madness bracket is not loaded with high-profile freshmen, but there are future first-round NBA Draft picks — and sleepers, too.