Jan 20, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Eric Dailey Jr. (3) and and guard Donovan Dent (2) celebrate after defeating the Purdue Boilermakers at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom Financial. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

How Donovan Dent Improvement Has Spurred Bruins

Originally posted on UCLA Bruins on SI | By Nathan Berry | Last updated Jan 30, 2026 7:00 AM ET

The Bruins made headlines when they acquired star player Donovan Dent in the off-season, and he was expected to be a huge piece for the team all season.

However, he struggled in a few games and that gave viewers a lot to be worried about, and he needed to bounce-back if he wanted to become what UCLA needed him to be.

Fortunately, he has had the bounce-back he needed against three teams in a row: Purdue, Northwestern, and Oregon, so how did he play in those games to improve?

How Donovan Dent Has Improved: Points

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In the three games preceding the team's winning streak, Dent was averaging seven points an outing and not contributing nearly as much as he needed to in order for the Bruins to win.

His worst night of the three came against Penn State when he had 30 minutes on the court and failed to get a single point on the board, making the game much harder for UCLA to win.

Things have changed in the Bruins most recent three games though, in which he has been averaging 17 points a game with his best outing being against Purdue for 23 points.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

In fact, the game against the Boilermakers was the match that flipped the script for Dent, as he hasn't slipped back into low-scoring since.

The weight of playing against highly ranked teams put pressure onto Dent, and it has been the first steps in making him a bona-fide star for the team.

How Donovan Dent Has Improved: Leadership

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With Dent now being like the player Mick Cronin scouted him to be, he has already begun to step up on the court in leadership.

The ways that he has grown in intensity and passion have transferred throughout his teammates and that has been echoing in every victory the Bruins have had recently.

Dent has changed for the better, and he won't let himself be the only one on his team to do that, so he has been getting more vocal and focused on the court with his teammates, even fill in players like Trent Perry.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The Bruins then become more organized on offense and on defense, and though Dent still has not been the perfect leader he has certainly made UCLA basketball smoother.

Without Dent leading the way by improving himself it could be quite possible that the Bruins lose some of the games they have won, and without his leadership the team would have a higher hill to climb in tournaments.

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