Basketball
Donovan Dent’s transfer from New Mexico to UCLA was one of the biggest moves in the college basketball offseason. The former Mountain West Player of the Year brings a new dynamic playmaking prowess to the Bruins that was lacking last season.
Legendary coach and ESPN College Basketball Analyst, Dick Vitale, is a huge fan of UCLA’s acquisition of Dent. In his latest list of transfer portal winners, Vitale ranked Dent as one of the top PTPers (Prime-Time-Players) in the nation who moved in the transfer portal.
Dent was ranked No. 2 behind Kansas State transfer PJ Haggerty. This is what Vitale had to say about the former Lobo:
“Bruins coach Mick Cronin found his floor general. Dent’s downhill dashes will have Pauley Pavilion rockin’ like the ’70s. An elite point guard, Dent was in the top 15 in both scoring and assists last year while at New Mexico. He’s got energy, handles like a magician, and he can make things happen off the dribble.”
In an exclusive interview with BruinReportOnline’s David Woods, Dent revealed what the pitch was like from the Bruins as a five-star recruit and what ultimately confirmed — rather than attracted — his move to Westwood.
“The biggest pitch to me was, they just told me that they know what I’m capable of,” Dent said of Cronin’s pitch to him. “I don’t think we have a single high school recruit, if I’m not mistaken. He’s bringing in older guys. He knows what group he wants to win.
“He was telling us how the group that took him to the Final Four was all older guys, more vets and all that. So that was the biggest pitch to me, is that I just feel like this team can win. We’re all vets, we’ve all been where we need to be and we all want to take that next step. Just being able to fill in that role, I think it’s going to be a fun season for that.”
After finishing their first season in the Big Ten Conference with a 23-11 record and soon thereafter falling to Tennessee in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, the Bruins’ trajectory is looking up for next season.
UCLA finished the season with the 164th overall offense with similar low rankings in field goal percentage, 3-point percentage and free throw shooting.
With Dent addressing a dire need for improvement offensively, the Bruins are primed to build off the momentum of their inaugural season in the Big Ten by proving to be a true contender in the college basketball stratosphere.
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