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Bruins on the Hunt for One of Portal's Top PGs

The UCLA Bruins are reportedly one of several teams that are making a run at New Mexico Lobos star point guard Donovan Dent after he entered the transfer portal earlier this week. His talent would be needed as an elite scoring guard.
Tom Cavanaugh|
Mar 23, 2025; Cleveland, OH, USA; New Mexico Lobos guard Donovan Dent (2) dribbles the ball defended by Michigan State Spartans guard Jeremy Fears Jr. (1) in the second half during the NCAA Tournament Second Round at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
Mar 23, 2025; Cleveland, OH, USA; New Mexico Lobos guard Donovan Dent (2) dribbles the ball defended by Michigan State Spartans guard Jeremy Fears Jr. (1) in the second half during the NCAA Tournament Second Round at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

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The UCLA Bruins are seeking to bolster their roster through the transfer portal once again and have recently reached out to one of the top players in the portal. New Mexico Lobos star junior point guard Donovan Dent is a hot target and the Bruins have locked in on him early in the transfer process.

Dent has already been contacted by UCLA after putting his name in the portal on Tuesday morning, per Sam Kayser of 24/7 High School Hoops. This is would be a major acquisition for a Bruins team that had solid guard play last season, but lacked the elite scorer to put them over the hump.

Back in November, the Bruins faced off with Dent and the Lobos in the second regular-season game of the year, back when UCLA was ranked No. 22 in the country. Dent dropped 17 points and eight assists in a 72-64 win over the Bruins to knock them out of the national rankings.

New Mexico's season ended in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, falling to Michigan State in Cleveland. Dent finished his junior season averaging 20.3 points on 49% shooting and 6.3 assists.

He is the only Division I player to average 20 points and over five assists this season and was the Mountain West's leading scorer. Dent is largely regarded as one of the top overall players in the portal right now and arguably the No. 1 point guard that has entered their name so far.

The Bruins were one of the lowest-scoring teams in the Big Ten this season due to their lack of an elite scorer with the ability to take over a game at moments notice. Dent posted 19 games of 20-plus points, scored over 30 in four games and had a season-high of 40. He was simply dominant this year.

With elite scoring and highlight plays, sometimes comes with the negative side; turnovers. Dent averaged a career-high 3.1 turnovers, coughing the ball up 12 times in two tournament games this season. It seems to be his only flaw, but Mick Cronin's tutelage may be able to remedy that quickly.

There is a major contributing factor that may swing Dent's decision, taking the Bruins out of the hunt. Former New Mexico Lobos head coach Richard Pitino accepted the head coaching position at Xavier University on Tuesday afternoon. There is a somewhat strong chance that Dent follows him to Cincinnati.

It would not be the biggest surprise for Dent to follow his head coach to the Big East after spending the past three seasons with him, but the Bruins will have as good of a shot as any team. Dent is a Riverside, California native, which could sway his decision to return to his home state for his senior year.

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Tom Cavanaugh
TOM CAVANAUGH

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