Donovan Dent came to UCLA through the transfer portal this past offseason. Giving him the chance to return home to California and star for the Bruins. Choosing that over the possibility of larger NIL offers that other schools would've dished out to get him. Dent who was the Mountain West Player of the Year in 2024 brought a mix of elite scoring and passing to a Bruins team needing a spark. This is a school that has a rich tradition of sending guards to the NBA and seeing them succeed for long careers.
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β UCLA Menβs Basketball (@UCLAMBB) October 21, 2025
We had seen a few exhibition games in which Dent was able to operate. But they were exhibition games and you are not going to get your best out of everyone. Because plays that you use in regular season will be vested and saved. Just giving players, the opportunity to get live game action in again and be able to get their gameplay speeds back. The real test came in the home opener versus Eastern Washington on November 3rd.
Dent was everything as advertised on the offensive end. He is a three-level scorer and showed his abiity to space the floor but also knife through the defense to get downhill and to the bucket. The attention that he draws allows him to display his passing skills as well as he finished the night just short of a double double with 21 points and nine assists. Giving UCLA fans hope that this offense will continue to elevate as they mesh together more with the return of Eric Dailey Jr.
Donovan Dent is the most electrifying player in college basketball.
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β Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) November 4, 2025
Although the score of 80-74 was not ideal as a 30 point favorite. The offense Dent showed was eveything the Bruins hoped for when they landed him. The focus will definitely be fixing the defense because they know what they have on offense. If they can gel the two together it will make for a scary UCLA team come Big Ten play.