YUMA, Ariz. - Former Arizona Western men's basketball player Yaxel Lendeborg continues to rewrite history books for the Matadors men's basketball program. On Saturday, April 4th, he became the first former Matador to ever play in an NCAA Final Four game. This evening, another program first as Yaxel will face UCONN in the National Championship game in Indianapolis.

"It's super surreal," Matador men's basketball coach Kyle Isaacs said. "It's really hard to believe, six years ago, five years ago and four years ago he played all three of his season's here. Now he's playing for the ultimate championship on the biggest stage and on the biggest level."

Former KYMA Sports Director Cole Johnson covered and followed Yaxel Lendeborg during his time at Arizona Western.

"To be in contention for National player of the Year and a potential national title is unfathomable to watch play out," Johnson said. "I'm proud I got to see just a small part of his journey, and hopefully a long career."

Johnson recalls the change he noticed in Lendeborg from year one to year two during his time at Arizona Western.

"The vast improvement from year one to year two was very noticeable," Johnson said. "You always knew he was a good player but was still pretty raw. As we've all seen on several stories this year about his journey, he had just started playing organized ball a few years prior. So early on you could tell he was going to be big for Coach Isaacs and company, but it wasn't until that second year where he really popped and was the best player on the floor in most games."

Lendeborg's historic Final Four moment nearly ended early when he injured his ankle and sprained his MCL just past the halfway mark in the first half against Arizona. Yaxel immediately left the game and went to the locker room with a towel over his head for treatment. Yaxel briefly returned in the second half, making two three pointers before leaving the game with 11 points.

"Luckily his teammates were able to lift up and really get after Arizona," Isaacs said. "They didn't really necessarily need him in the second half which was good for them."

Lendeborg says he'll play in the national title game no matter what. Coach Kyle Isaacs says Yaxel had the same kind of mentality and pain threshold at Arizona Western. 

"One time I can recall, we were playing Mesa Community College," Isaacs said. "We did not have a great start; the score was getting out of control. Yaxel had a migraine headache in that game. He put the team on his shoulders and led us to victory. Just willed us to a win that night and he showed up, came in and gave us good minutes."

That's also how Cole Johnson remembers Yaxel Lendeborg, a player the rest of the team would look to. 

"Whenever the Matadors were in a tight game, from my perspective on the sideline, things felt less tense when Yaxel was on the floor with the ball in his hands," Johnson said. "Whether he was the one making the play or not, he always made those around him better because of his presence. You could feel it."

Now the player who was so raw and no one wanted to recruit is polished and sparkling on the nation's biggest stage. All because Arizona Western took a chance on a post player to fill a roster spot. 

"Fast forward to now, it's amazing to see how much better he is still getting," Johnson said. "No plateau, no ceiling. A constant rise." 

"As a Matador he was always ready to go," Isaacs said. "He wasn't a guy you had to motivate when the lights came on. He was always going to be ready. The level he has improved has been super drastic. Just to make the outsides shots. That was non-existent here. Now he's one of the better shooters on Michigan's team. Again, from here it's possible. The face of NCAA men's basketball for this season started here, at Arizona Western."

Tonight's NCAA national championship game between Michigan and the University of Connecticut in Indianapolis tips off at 5:50 p.m. MT