Bruce Pearl says Yaxel Lendeborg wasn't 'warmed up' by $1 million NIL in recruitment originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Even in retirement, Bruce Pearl still has receipts from Auburn’s aggressive roster building era.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Hall of Fame coach, who stepped away just before the 2024-25 season after guiding the Tigers into the modern NIL frontier, remains plugged into the pulse of college basketball recruiting. That access provided another story Tuesday night, when No. 11 Auburn met Michigan in a neutral-site clash that doubled as a reunion Pearl admits he once badly wanted.
Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg, the rugged 6-foot-9 transfer from UAB, was a prime portal target for Pearl last offseason as Auburn sought replacements for All-American center Johni Broome and veteran big Dylan Cardwell. The Tigers believed a seven-figure NIL offer might be persuasive. Pearl now acknowledges it was a non-starter.
“We lost Broome and Cardwell, we went after Lendeborg,” Pearl said via On3. “He’s a Dominican kid, played with Chad Baker-Mazara, had a great relationship. We thought a million dollars would be good enough. Didn’t even warm him up.”
Lendeborg’s two standout seasons at UAB made him one of the most coveted frontcourt pieces on the market. Pearl concedes the number didn’t register.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThrough five games, he is averaging 15.0 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists.
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