LOS ANGELES — California’s Mr. Basketball is back to prove he’s still the man of the state.
For three years, Donovan Dent left his roots. Not by choice, rather because of a mission. After West Coast blue bloods overlooked him, he willingly went to New Mexico. His success there secured him a ticket home.
A ticket back to his support system. A ticket back to workouts in his high school gym with his lifelong trainer. A ticket back to weekly family gatherings, his stepdad’s grilling, his mother’s embrace, the warmth of his grandmother’s voice asking him, “Baby, what do you want to eat?”
A ticket to his dream school that once disregarded him, but now needs him to be their hero.
From a young age, Dent wanted to play basketball at UCLA. He thought he did enough to seize that opportunity. But when it didn’t happen, he put his head down and focused on becoming the player he knew he always could. He didn’t do it for the Bruins’ attention, but they took notice, correcting their mistake before it was too late.
“I loved my route,” Dent said. “I loved my journey. So I wouldn’t have changed any of it.”
After earning the right to pick where he’d finish that college journey, Dent chose to come home. Now he has to validate that decision to transfer to Westwood, to prove himself like he has at every stop along the way.
Growing up in Corona, Dent participated in all the mainstream sports – basketball, football, baseball. His dream was to hoop at UCLA and play football at USC, his mom, Laura, said. The first time he learned to overcome doubt was his freshman year of high school.
Dent attended Centennial High – about as good as it gets for public school basketball in Southern California. Head coach Joshua Giles felt Dent was skilled enough to play on varsity as a freshman, yet he didn’t even place him on JV.
“He put him on freshman team because he wanted him to play the whole game and develop,” Laura Dent said of her son. “That, I want to say, is what really humbled him.”
Dent trusted the process, and by his sophomore season, he was promoted to varsity. His patience resulted in performances like a 21-point, 8-assist game in the CIF State Championship his junior year, and a 33-point showing against Mater Dei in the Southern Section Open Division semifinal during his senior season.
Instead of resenting Giles, Dent respected the intentional way his coach approached his development. Dent devotes intense loyalty to those who treat him genuinely. In return, he stuck with Giles throughout high school, playing out summers on the local club team, rather than joining the high-profile AAU circuit.
Dent didn’t consider how it might impact his future recruitment. He also never understood the scrutiny behind his style of play. Dent has always been a pass-first guard, too selfless to operate otherwise. But it led to skepticism of his outside shot.
“I always thought he got a bad rap about his shooting ability,” Giles said. “We saw him make plenty of shots, he just doesn’t shoot a lot of shots.”
Clearly, Dent did receive acclaim. Enough to be voted Mr. Basketball by Cal-Hi Sports in 2022. But his lack of exposure – hampered further by losing his sophomore year of high school to the COVID-19 pandemic – and the uncertainty surrounding his jumper led to few offers from big-time Division I programs.
Dent chose New Mexico, a school that followed him closely throughout his high school career. Their consistent interest appealed to his loyal nature. His sincere personality fit the Lobos’ diehard supporters.
Dent viewed his recruitment situation similarly to when Giles placed him on the freshman team – just another chance to prove himself.
“What made me mad was, I knew the people UCLA was recruiting in the same class as me and I felt like I could do a bit better,” Dent said. “That’s always motivated me.”
In New Mexico, Dent earned a starting spot as a sophomore. As a junior, he helped the Lobos win their first NCAA Tournament game since 2014. That same season, he was voted the unanimous Mountain West Player of the Year. He became a community celebrity for the right reasons.
Laura Dent would attend games at The Pit in Albuquerque and was blown away with how many fans put her son “on a pedestal.” Once at a game, a woman approached her, expressing how honored she was to meet her.
“I am so happy,” she told Laura, “that Donovan woke up New Mexico and gave us a name again. Thank you for lending him to us for three years. We hate to see him go, but know that your son is well-loved and respected. We are going to miss him.”
Dent’s contagious authenticity washed over the Lobo faithful.
Eventually, Giles said, Dent’s stardom outgrew the platform present at New Mexico. And when head coach Richard Pitino announced he was leaving for Xavier, it sealed Dent’s fate.
He entered his name in the transfer portal. His services, however, weren’t open to every bidder.
“The second he hit the portal, his mind was already made up to go to UCLA,” his longtime trainer Shannin Sharpe said. “He wanted to come home. I don’t even think any other school got a fair shake.”
UCLA and head coach Mick Cronin, well aware of Dent’s priorities, didn’t sell out for him, rather telling him straight what his homecoming would look like.
Dent and Giles joined Cronin on a video call, the Bruins’ head coach explaining what Dent already knew from his high school years studying the program, longing for them to recruit him.
“He kept it real.” Dent said of Cronin. “He was like, ‘I’m going to yell and scream – it’s who I am. You’re going to have to play defense. There’s no sugarcoating it. You know what you have to do.’”
Dent didn’t shy away. He had finally earned the treatment, the respect he craved from UCLA. While it was overdue, he had achieved his childhood goal. Now he has to show that he deserves it.
Back in Southern California, Dent enjoys weekly trips to Corona. He drives there late at night to maximize his 24 hours. His grandma has breakfast prepared before he’s awake. By 7:30 a.m., he and Sharpe are at Centennial, lifting in the weight room, shooting a series of form shots – the janitors happy to open the doors for the kid they call “Donny,” the freshman they saw grow into the state’s best player. Dent then goes up and down with the current high schoolers.
He visits his local cryotherapy center. He returns to the gym later for skills work. He finishes the night spending quality time with his family, eating dinner and playing board games.
“Knowing that I have those resources in my back pocket,” Dent said, “it just gives me confidence.”
If he finds himself in a slump this season, Dent says he plans to rely on those comforts to help navigate it. It’s a luxury he hasn’t had for the last three years.
A luxury made sweeter because he earned it.