YAXEL LENDEBORG
HISTERICALCHEES COMBINE APPROVED
Position/Archetype: Athletic Small-Ball 5
College: UAB
Pros:
Athleticism and body: very athletic, fast gets a lot of blocks, jumps real high while also being very tall and long, a good 6'9 with a 7'3 wingspan. People with this much length and wingspan with a huge vertical usually find pretty easy roles in the league as stoppers and transition players as lower role players at the minimum.
Creation: has a real fluid handle for a player that tall, he gets to the rim with quite a lot of ease, can get himself shots in the mid range well, not trouble getting shots over people, able ff ball although he was used a lot more on ball this year. He has been used I the post creating, as a screener and is a decent passer although slightly boneheaded.
Efficiency: Very efficient from every level (81st percentile) and from free throws, giving me a lot of hope his 3 pointer develops further, he's efficient from there but low volume which we will get to. Love the ability at al levels though, really helps avoid schemes against you as a player.
Defensive Prowess: I think a theme with these first 3 players has purely been the versatility on the defensive end for them, out of Fleming, Clifford and Lendeborg, Lendeborg is by far the more interior focused player which is why I personally describe him as a small ball 5 at the moment rather than a 4 which he needs certain things to develop. Lendeborg is a very adept blocker, tracks the ball extremely well and uses the backboard to his advantage which makes me really believe on that interior defensive upside of his. Due to his positioning on the defensive end as a 5, he gets a lot of steals in the post, but he is able to stick with a man on the perimeter as he has great lateral movement and footwork for a tall player.
Rebounding: One of the best rebounders in college, averaged 11 and eats them up, gonna be very solid due to his physicality, but due to his height he probably won't be as good but probably an above average rebounder in ability which is always nice from undersized positional players.
Cons:
Competition: As we have said with these first guys, he is playing lower end competition, the AAC isn't horrible but its not at the level of some of the upper echelon of the class, so the magnitude of the advantages of this guy are a question.
Decision Making and POA stats: 34th percentile isolation scorer, Poor Pick and Roll Ball handling stats, If he gets pressured he becomes turnover prone an that would scare me in the NBA, and this leads to streaky scoring from him.
Age and Inexperience, Personal Issues?(Potentially a good thing): going to be 23 to start his first season and has only been D1 for 2 years, he had limited High School experience due to Poor grades which you can make of what you want with that, basically cause him to miss 3 years of competitive team basketball, Maybe this means he has a lot more room to grow? Something we will find out!
NBA Pro Comp: John Collins Mixed with Aaron Gordon type, maybe Onyeka Okongwu
Projection: Strong Roleplayer, potential starter yet uncertain, due to his positional situation
CHEESE FINAL BOARD RANKING: (coming soon)