Yaxel

[tower912]

With portal season upon us, it reminds me of something I have often pondered about the 40+ years I have been a MU basketball fan.
How is it MU has never landed a player like Yaxel? A 6'9, 245 specimen who can play inside, outside, run the floor, defend.  Not one in 40 years.  MU has never had a dynamic, do it all 6'9 beast.

When I say that I would love a 6'9 stretch 4 to play next to Royce, that is what I am talking about.  And in a perfect world, I would take two of them over a traditional 5.  My dream 9 man rotation features two Yaxel types and a Royce up front.

Maybe someday Shaka breaks that 50 year streak.

[Billy Hoyle]

The interesting thing about Yaxel is that after JUCO, he signed with St John's under Mike Anderson, and Pitino cut him loose, so he ended up at UAB. Nobody could have foreseen this three years ago. It was covered ad nauseam by the broadcasters. He didn't really get serious about hoops until his teens, so he was obviously a late bloomer. Michigan is fortunate for the Pavia waiver, giving Yaxel one more year.

[panda]

Thanks for the input muggsy

[tower912]

First of all, all credit to the kid.  In my mind, in this case, Yaxel is more of a universal.

Notable 6'9 ish players since I started at MU.
Copa, Downing, Key, Crawford, RJackson, Fitzgerald, Joey, Theo, Royce.  I am sure I missed a couple, but if they were impact players or athletic freaks I would have remembered.  None are the do it all 4s.
Royce comes close, but he needs to fill out and doesn't have the hops.

[nyg]

Not 40 years, but 50.

Bo Ellis was like 180lbs, but he easily did everything Yaxel did and more. 

[LAZER]

He wasn't 6'9, but Crowder fits the player you describe.

[Pakuni]

First of all, all credit to the kid.  In my mind, in this case, Yaxel is more of a universal.

Notable 6'9 ish players since I started at MU.
Copa, Downing, Key, Crawford, RJackson, Fitzgerald, Joey, Theo, Royce.  I am sure I missed a couple, but if they were impact players or athletic freaks I would have remembered.  None are the do it all 4s.
Royce comes close, but he needs to fill out and doesn't have the hops.

Chris Crawford slander here. He was, in fact, a super-athletic, do-it-all four. Not of Lendeborg's quality, but good enough to carve out a solid NBA career before getting bit by the injury bug.

[panda]

Oso was a dynamic point forward...

[Jay Bee]

Chris Crawford slander here. He was, in fact, a super-athletic, do-it-all four. Not of Lendeborg's quality, but good enough to carve out a solid NBA career before getting bit by the injury bug.

Plus, a dominant baseball pitcher! #Astros

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

The interesting thing about Yaxel is that after JUCO, he signed with St John's under Mike Anderson, and Pitino cut him loose, so he ended up at UAB. Nobody could have foreseen this three years ago. It was covered ad nauseam by the broadcasters. He didn't really get serious about hoops until his teens, so he was obviously a late bloomer. Michigan is fortunate for the Pavia waiver, giving Yaxel one more year.

Late bloomers don't exist.  I've been informed that after two or three years of college basketball a player is a known commodity and can't possibly improve

[jfp61]

Wait until people hear we checked in on him twice haha

[brewcity77]

Late bloomers don't exist.  I've been informed that after two or three years of college basketball a player is a known commodity and can't possibly improve

Guys can improve, but I do think if you don't see signs in those first 2-3 years, you probably know what you have. Jimmy Butler definitely showed signs his sophomore year. Yaxel was a two-time NJCAA All-American then awesome at UAB. I can't think of many players that didn't give you hope after their first couple years and were suddenly starting level players. Maybe Sacar is the closest?

[Pakuni]

Late bloomers don't exist.  I've been informed that after two or three years of college basketball a player is a known commodity and can't possibly improve

#FakeNews

[Galway Eagle]

Joey and Henry are raging reading this.

Oh wait you said defend... nevermind

[Zog from Margo]

How many guys are there who were negative contributors after three years and then exploded in year four? It would seem the exception rather than the rule. It's like hoping to catch lightning in a bottle.

[JakeBarnes]

How many guys are there who were negative contributors after three years and then exploded in year four? It would seem the exception rather than the rule. It's like hoping to catch lightning in a bottle.

Aday Mara is a decent example. Only 2 years. But wasn't much at UCLA

[MU82]

Joey and Henry are raging reading this.

Oh wait you said defend... nevermind

These were the two who leapt to mind.

Henry was at least as good as Yaxel offensively, and he didn't need 4-5 years to get there. He probably could have been a better defender than he was, but Wojo didn't demand that from his players, especially his stars. Also, Henry was around for only one year after dominating relatively tiny opponents in high school, so he didn't have the time (or coaching) to develop into a better defender.

When Sam was a sophomore, I remember asking those in the know, "So Joey is actually better than Sam?" And I was assured he was. A high-IQ, all-around offensive player who could handle the ball, pass, shoot and rebound, all at a very high level. But because he mostly went up against far inferior high-schoolers from the middle of Wisconsin, they had no way of knowing he was mentally weak and Charmin soft.

As for tower's question ... Oso was a pretty damn good all-around college big at doing everything except shoot from outside the lane. Jae and Lazar weren't 6-9, but they played much bigger than they were, and either would have given Yaxel a hell of a battle on the court.

Beyond that ... there simply aren't many 6-9 guys who have great offensive and defensive skills. That's why, when someone like Yaxel shows up on the scene, we really take notice ... and start threads like this one. Over the years, a whole lot of programs beyond Marquette wished they found guys like Yaxel.
 

[Zog from Margo]

Aday Mara is a decent example. Only 2 years. But wasn't much at UCLA

Is that the exception or the rule? Also, as you note, that was only two years into the process and not three.

[wisblue]

Not 40 years, but 50.

Bo Ellis was like 180lbs, but he easily did everything Yaxel did and more. 

Not at all comparable.

Ellis was a great player but nowhere near the ball handler or outside shooter that Yaxel is.

It was a completely different era.

[tower912]

Wait until people hear we checked in on him twice haha

And?   If we are to believe his story about what Kentucky offered and what he is getting paid at Michigan, MU wasn't going to get him. 

If true,  glad Shaka did his due diligence.

[brewcity77]

Aday Mara is a decent example. Only 2 years. But wasn't much at UCLA

He didn't put up much for counting stats, but his RAPM and BPR were decent as a freshman and very good as a sophomore, especially on the defensive end. His BPR was #157 in the country as a sophomore but he only played 13 mpg, so it didn't really get noticed. But the impact was there.

EDIT: For comparison, Hamilton was #89 out of 93 Big East players. For Clark, he didn't have enough possessions to rank, but if you lower the threshold to 200 possessions he's at #78 out of 112.

[jfp61]

And?   If we are to believe his story about what Kentucky offered and what he is getting paid at Michigan, MU wasn't going to get him. 

If true,  glad Shaka did his due diligence.

Yes except the first time was pre UAB

[tower912]

So Shaka recognized talent but he didn't come to MU.  And?

[Scoop Snoop]

So Shaka recognized talent but he didn't come to MU.  And?

Obvious! Shaka didn't giddyup.

[SaveOD238]

Another who comes to mind is Jamil Wilson.  Again, not nearly the quality of Yaxel, but he set himself up for decent NBA career before screwing it up with legal trouble.