From 12 hours of video games a day to Big Ten Player of the Year: The unlikely rise of Yaxel Lendeborg

Back in high school, Yaxel Lendeborg wasn’t even on the basketball team (and had even been cut from the middle-school team) and played video games 12-14 hours each day. 

Now, the Michigan Wolverines Forward is the Big Ten Player of the Year—referred to as “The Dominican LeBron”—and is set to take on the Alabama Crimson Tide in the Sweet 16 on Friday.

His journey from the couch to the court is the kind of story coaches tell recruits to illustrate the success that can come from a single decision.