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The Michigan basketball program won its first national championship in nearly four decades on Monday with a victory over UCONN.
The Wolverines did so with a slew of transfer stars that didn’t start their careers in Ann Arbor. Due to the roster movement, claims of tampering surrounded the program this season.
Assistant coach Mike Boynton Jr. did his best to quiet the noise after the NCAA Tournament.
Boynton, who’s been on staff as a defensive coordinator in each of Dusty May’s two seasons, defended his head coach’s recruiting practices. He denied cheating accusations, using strict academic standards as proof.
Did Michigan basketball tamper?
Boynton says no. He referenced the university’s admissions process as evidence.
“It’s nonsense,” he said in a conversation with CBS Sports. “I wish people would just write the truth… We went out and tried to be competitive (in the portal) and we were…
“People (were) making up just complete lies about the guys we were trying to supposedly tamper with, like (Purdue guard) Braden Smith.
“The narrative was we were trying to recruit Braden Smith at the Big Ten Tournament last year. I’ll say this: If we could recruit Braden Smith and he went into the portal, we would, but we couldn’t recruit Braden Smith because you cannot get juniors into school at Michigan.”
Michigan did not get Braden Smith, who never intended to leave Purdue. It did get Elliot Cadeau, a transfer from North Carolina that was just named Most Outstanding Player at the Final Four.
The Wolverines also nabbed Yaxel Lendeborg, Aday Mara, and Morez Johnson Jr.
Michigan is the first team EVER to win a national championship while starting FIVE transfers 😱
Yaxel Lendeborg (UAB)
Morez Johnson Jr. (Illinois)
Aday Mara (UCLA)
Elliot Cadeau (North Carolina)
Nimari Burnett (Alabama) pic.twitter.com/lJ8nNjcTTE— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) April 7, 2026
Each of those starting transfers were either freshmen, sophomores, or prospective graduate students.
May took over as head coach ahead of the 2024 season. He was forced to rebuild through the portal following a mass exodus. Players, including UCONN center Tarris Reed, bolted from the program after a coaching change.
Taking transfers was the quickest path to success.
That said, Michigan insists it did everything the right way. It was forced to do so, bound by those previously mentioned academic requirements – which, at times, prevented the last coach from landing top talent.
Mike Boynton is no stranger to recruiting controversy. A former head coach at Oklahoma State, he was scrutinized for hiring Cade Cunningham’s brother on staff while making his pitch to the future pro.
The assistant does not want negative headlines to surround his current program. Michigan was not shady. It worked within the rules to build a championship roster. Boynton’s done his part to nix the tampering allegations.